Academic and Student Affairs Building Project

Fall 2007 Report: Committee has not met.

Athletics Committee

Committee's Role: The athletics committee oversees all athletics related issues. These include NCAA certifications, missed classes, athlete grades, fan issues, campaigns (like Hokie Respect), scheduling of athletic events, finances, construction and maintenance of facilities, and NCAA rules and violations. This committee rarely deals with Rec Sports, although there is a representative there.

GSA's Role on Committee: Bring graduate student perspective to the committee, survey grad students on issues when relevant. Remind committee members how students think when they frequently forget.

Fall 2007 Report: Dealing with all of the functions listed above. Too much to summarize beyond that

Blacksburg Town Gown

Committee's Role:

GSA's Role on Committee:

Fall 2007 Report:

Building Committee

Commencement Committee

Committee's Role: Voting on new or existing commencement practices/policies. Determining who the speakers will be, the size of the degrees, etc.

GSA's Role on Committee: Voting member, represent the feelings of the graduate student community.

Fall 2007 Report: Voted to make all degrees a standard size. (I think we agreed on 9x12.) This will take effect in a couple of years, since they have contracts out for the current sizes. They will now be enforcing searches at all commencements of bags,etc, like they did at last spring's commencement following the shootings.

Commission on Faculty Affairs

Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies

Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies

Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies

Commission on Outreach and International Affairs

Committee's Role: The charge of the COIA is: To study, formulate, and recommend to the University Council policies and procedures concerning the engagement of the University in service, outreach, and international affairs. Areas for consideration include: Cooperative extension, continuing and professional education, economic development including community resource and leadership development, liaison with affiliated corporations and institutes, international programs, other matters affecting service, outreach, and international affairs.

GSA's Role on Committee: Provide feedback on some issues that relate to graduate students. Like how to have graduate students involved in outreach.

Fall 2007 Report: Outreach NOW 2007 (annual conference) There were 184 participants at the Outreach NOW 2007 conference. Jeri Childers (Director, Outreach Program Development) shared results of the on-line conference evaluation. There was a discussion about what aspects of the conference are particularly valuable, dialogue of selected group of faculty with keynote speaker, options for networking long-term session, possible themes, Keynote speaker, how to involve stakeholders. Space has been reserved at The Inn on September 8 for the Outreach NOW 2008 Conference. A theme needs to be identified in January.

RSO Budget Board (Martha Glass)

Committee's Role: To hear requests from undergrad and grad registered student orgs, for small grant request and annual budget request

GSA's Role on Committee: To be familiar with policies, hear request, and make decisions about funding

Fall 2007 Report: We had three hearings, attended 2 trainings one for small grants and one for annual

RSO Budget Board (Jenni Popp)

Committee's Role: We are responsible for approving/rejecting/amending small grant requests and contingency funding for registered student organizations.

GSA's Role on Committee: Graduate and undergraduate students have equal roles in determining the validity of a grant request.

Fall 2007 Report: The board has reviewed and approved a number of small grant and contingency funding requests from various RSOs.

RSO Budget Board (Munusamy Prabhakaran)

Committee's Role: I had an nice introduction about the functions and roles of RSO budget board. I also got trained on my part as budget board committee member.

GSA's Role on Committee: To provide my suggestion in support of commitee to make a final decision.

Fall 2007 Report: We went over requests hearings from different groups and made sanction for funds based on there request and availability. It all made based on there request plan and if it all satisfies our budget board rules they will be alloted for full funding or else based on elgigibility partial funding. I dont see any group going without money for there events.

RSO Budget Board (Krishna Vummidi)

Committee's Role: Basic training understanding the funding rules and reasons. Each application from student organization is reviewed for funding independently and evaluate them on their own merit

GSA's Role on Committee: Show up in to the budget board meeting and be a part of the vote that decides if the student organization can be funded or not.

Fall 2007 Report: - The first meeting we were trained on the rules while we were making decisions on funding various student organizations - The guidelines, polices and procedures were described by Steve Burrell (Assistant Director of student organizations)

RSO Budget Board (Karl Kosko)

Committee's Role: To decide whether certain grant proposals are funded and are able to be funded according to the guidelines.

GSA's Role on Committee: To decide whether certain grant proposals are funded and are able to be funded according to the guidelines.

Fall 2007 Report: We have met a few times to decide whether certain groups are funded.

Intellectual Property Committee

Committee's Role: Discuss the special cases of applications for intellectual rights submitted to the VP for research. Only applications where the University and the applicant don't agree are submitted to the committee.

GSA Role on Committee: Was not specified.

Fall 2007 Report: The first meeting presented the previous minute, the committee role and constitution, related websites and documentation.

Library Committee

Committee's Role: To disseminate knowledge and make recommendations concerning policies, services, and development of the University’s libraries.

GSA's Role on Committee: To act as a liaison between the library board staff and GSA Board

Fall 2007 Report: Collections Management reviewed its subscriptions to online scholarly publications which has resulted in almost 600 cancellations and renegotiated access terms to several databases. The Specials Collections has created an archive for April 16, 2007.

University Council

Committee's Role: University council receives and reviews requests from the eight university commissions. University council reports to President Steger whom reports to the BOV.

GSA's Role on Committee: Our role is to represent the graduate student perspective when voting on resolutions.

Fall 2007 Report: We have not had any meetings this semester.

University Student Budget Board

Commission's Function: University Student Budget Board meetings are typically an hour in length and involve hearing contingency fund requests.

GSA Role on Committee: To aid the University Student Budget Board in assessing contingency funding requests and include graduate student perspective in the process.

Fall 2007 Report: Thus far, University Student Budget Board has heard approximately 10 contingency funding requests. We have also gone over the policies and procedures of the board. This spring, University Student Budget Board will have longer meetings to delegate out large sums of money, which will then be further divided in the RSO Budget Board.

University Health Advisory Committee

Committee's Function: Student Health Advisory Committee meetings are typically an hour in length and involve discussion of Schiffert Health Center, student perspectives on on-campus health facilities, etc.

GSA Role on Committee: Graduate students are expected to voice concerns on behalf of the graduate student body with regard to health insurance, Schiffert Health Center, developing and implementing surveys, etc.

Fall 2007 Report: Thus far, the Student Health Advisory Committee has discussed revamping the Schiffert Health Center website to make it easier to navigate. The committee also discussed graduate students' concerns over the VT graduate health insurance plan. The committee designed and conducted a satisfaction survey prior to Thanksgiving break. The next few meetings will be devoted to analyzing the results of the survey.

Child Care Committee

Committee's Role: The charge of this committee is to find monetary and or social support for child care of graduate students with children.

GSA's Role on Committee: Collecting information to put in proposals that will likely fund this endeavor

Fall 2007 Report: So far, we have a few bids with local agencies for a co-op option, money from the Karen DePauw Fund, and a list of scholarship opportunities for parents with children (in progress