Meeting Minutes- 05 March 2014

Welcome

Undergrad Research Network (Rob Dyer):

  • Looking to start a graduate advising program for undergrads interested in going to grad school
  • Ideal setup: undergrad can email grad with questions, possibly meet later
  • Want to create a centralized list of email addresses for grads willing to participate
  • Ben will send out email to reps asking for interest

Elections:

  • President- Ben Vaughan
    • Running unopposed, elected unanimously
  • VP Administration- Amy Grady
    • Running unopposed, elected unanimously
  • VP Operations- Mike LaForest
    • Running unopposed, elected unanimously
  • VP Communications- Katie Schiermeyer
    • Statement read in her absence
    • Running unopposed, elected unanimously
  • VP Finance- Nivi Prabakaran
    • Running unopposed, elected unanimously
  • Social Committee Chair- Brett Chancellor
    • Running unopposed, elected unanimously
  • Finance Committee Chair- Danielle Racke
    • Running unopposed, elected unanimously
  • Research Committee Chair- Diana Dinescu
    • Running unopposed, elected unanimously
  • Initiatives Committee Co-Chair- Brynn Cook
    • Elected unanimously
  • Initiatives Committee Co-Chair- Alec Hickmott
    • Elected unanimously (1 abstain)
  • UJC Rep- Jarek Ervin
    • Elected unanimously

Honor Committee Description (Ben in lieu of Katie):

  • Statement from Katie, read in her absence:
  • There are weekly meetings on Sunday at 8pm in Newcomb Hall except during holidays and the summer.  As of right now, the committee handbooks and all training materials are available in the Honor Committee offices for those elected.  For new representatives, there is a mandatory training session on Wednesday, March 19 from 7-8:30pm in Newcomb and a retreat from Friday March 21 - Sunday March 23 at Graves Mountain Lodge.  If there are major conflicts, everyone who works with the committee is willing to work with excused absences.
  • With the mandatory dates being said, I highly recommend serving on the Honor Committee for the upcoming year.  Being on the committee for the last two years has been an amazing experience for me and an opportunity I do not regret.  I have been able to work with many administrators, Deans, and students in addition to experiencing a part of UVa culture that many times us graduate students do not feel a part of.

Humanities Week (Grace Erdmann):

  • April 7-11
  • Series of events motivated by students at UVa
  • Talks, readings, performances, looking to have grads get involved as participants, hosts, etc…
  • Contact Grace if interested or for more info

Committee Updates:

  • Research (Maduka):
    • Huskey is Tuesday, March 18th in Newcomb, plan to attend
    • Opening keynote: Dean Laushway at 9 AM
    • Closing awards: Keynote by Dean Woo
    • Lower number of participants (even in humanities), likely due to interdisciplinary sessions and other conferences
    • Looking for volunteers to help out, contact Maduka or Oat
  • Initiatives (Amy):
    • Total Advising
      • Looking for feedback on the current grad advising situation, send to Amy
      • Working on revising the white paper memo to tailor it to the pillars of strategic planning
    • Humanities/Social Science Ad-Hoc Committee
      • Designed to give greater representation to arts and humanities students on council, and to work on issues that only affect these groups
      • Contact Alec for more info or to get involved
    • Amy and Mike are part of a new committee on Graduation 2015/2016
      • Dealing with rotunda closure
      • If you feel strongly about this or have feedback, contact Amy or Mike
  • Social (Jake):
    • Stoplight party recap
      • Went well, well attended even with rescheduling
    • Upcoming GradDays events
      • 3/15- St. Patrick’s Day Happy hour at Rapture
      • 3/29- Happy Hour at Wild Wing Cafe
  • Professional Development (Ben):
    • GradDays update
    • Volunteers needed for some events
  • Budget (Danielle):
    • Classics Grad Student Colloquium
      • Request $500, Recommend $500
      • Approved unanimously
    • English Department Conference
      • Request $600, Recommend $600
      • Approved unanimously
    • GPSA Talks
      • Request $52, Recommend $52
      • Approved unanimously
    • Additional Funding for Chemistry Jefferson Lecture
      • Request additional $330, Recommend $330
      • Approved unanimously
    • St Patrick’s day Happy hour
      • Request $400, Recommend $400
      • Approved unanimously
    • Pan-Grad Mixer
      • Request $1000, Recommend $1000
      • Approved unanimously
    • GradDays Happy Hour 3/29
      • Request $400, Recommend $400
      • Approved unanimously
    • GradDays Wine and Cheese
      • Request $1200, Recommend $1200
      • Approved unanimously

Meeting Adjourned, next meeting is 4/7 in Newcomb Gallery