The following letter is in response to the Feb.13 letter by Bobby Wengronowitz

First, I would like to thank Robert for raising some important issues.  I do, however, have to point out that his characterization of the GSA is misguided.  Our core mission is to advocate on behalf of graduate students.  This year alone we have engaged or addressed several substantive issues relating to the quality of life and experience of graduate students. I would like to share a few examples with you.

 

Through the monthly meeting of the Graduate Library Council, which is open to all graduate students, we have secured dedicated graduate student space in O'Neill.

 

When rumors surfaced that plans for Stokes Hall didn't include cubicle space for TAs/TFs, I met with College of Arts and Sciences Dean, David Quigley, to discuss this issue. I learned that in addition to the cubicle space, there would be common space and lockers reserved for graduate students—a net gain in graduate student space on campus.  

 

As part of a two year exploration of graduate student advising, we held focus groups and began working on a survey instrument. Following our presentation of the proposed survey at the September meeting of the Provost's Advisory Council meeting, it became clear that we needed to engage faculty more and collaborate with the University offices responsible for institutional research—a process that takes time. This project, in particular, has been sidelined by the current vacancy in the Vice Provost for Graduate Education position.

 

While some advocacy issues, such as library space, are able to be resolved rather quickly, others cannot be settled in one academic year. Many of the issues Robert raises are perennial issues. To suggest that he is the first to name them and garner consensus on these "core issues" is naive. Rather than see our work as "going along silently with the administration," I encourage you to consider the interrelated factors that go into decision making at a complex institution with multiple stakeholders.  Some issues must be addressed at the school level, such as tuition, health insurance premium coverage, and stipend compensation, while others, like insurance premium costs, can be addressed at the institutional level.  There are different ways to engage the administration to be sure, but an approach that cultivates positive working relationships as part of a commitment to collaboration, recognizes reasonable timeframes in which issues can be addressed, and respects that we are one subset of a larger community, is the one I have chosen to adopt. Future presidents may take a different approach.

 

Lastly, the point that elections for the executive board will not be taking place this year is only partially correct. Over the last year we have decided to step back and thoughtfully evaluate how we do things. We have strong collaborative relationships with the school governments, the Office of Graduate Student Life (OGSL), the Provost's Office, the library, and many others who do important work for graduate students. We also have limited resources, so to avoid overlap, we've tried to identify our niche—those  things that graduate students are not or cannot get elsewhere. In the interest of maximizing our limited resources, both human and financial, we have chosen to strengthen our collaboration with the OGSL through more co-programming and more professional support for the exec board members.  We realize that the inherited structure of the GSA does not allow us to meet the needs of graduate students effectively. Therefore, we are increasing the expected commitment for exec board members from 10 to 20 hours per week and increasing the stipend.

 

We recognize the need for greater skills and a process by which we can evaluate someone's ability to meet the demands of the positions.  So we are actively developing a selection process that incorporates input from all graduate students with a traditional application/interview model characteristic of the processes for getting other graduate assistantships. There are challenges to this approach, but I feel that its worth trying.  The end goal of all involved is still advocating on behalf of graduate students.

Information about the process for seeking an exec board role for the 2012-2013 year will be available in the coming weeks.

 

I encourage you to be in touch with me to discuss any or all of this.