Electable Positions for the 2021-2022 GSA Executive Council

GSA Executive Council elections are officially open for nominations!
Submit a nomination form here

 NOTE: An additional category for the new Graduate Student Success Committee Chair position is available, if anyone needs to amend their nomination form, they are welcome to do so as long as adjustments are made by Friday when the form closes.

All Members of Executive Council

• Strive to represent the opinions and concerns of the General Membership as communicated through the Graduate Senate to UMBC Administration whenever appropriate
• Attend regular Executive Council Meetings
• Ensure that Executive Council Meeting decisions and reports are brought to the attention of the Graduate Senate, where appropriate
• Ensure that the Graduate Senate has access to the resources it needs to be informed and educated on any matters brought before the Graduate Senate
• Present and publish the Governing Documents as appropriate, or as requested by the Graduate Senate
• Work together to ensure all Official Senate Meetings run without issue.
• Attend all Official Senate Meetings
• Attend and participate in events including but not limited to the Graduate School Orientations, Graduate Commencement, Graduate Student Week, Awards Ceremony, & Doctoral Candidacy Ceremony; at the discretion of the President

President

Nominal Time Commitment: 15-20 hrs per week

The Office of the President concerns itself with (1) ensuring that the GSA operates in accordance with all of the Governing Documents and (2) that strong relationships are built and maintained with the relevant parties that exist in and around the UMBC community.

As such, the office has the following duties:

• Oversee the GSA initiatives and ensure that all provisions of the Governing Documents are enforced
• Meet with and maintain strong working relationships with other members of the GSA
• Act as a spokesperson for the GSA in communicating the decisions and opinions of the GSA to the General Membership, to the Graduate School, and to all other relevant parties
• Represent the GSA at the University Steering Committee
• Represent the GSA at various functions at UMBC including, but not limited to Commencement, Graduate School Orientation, & the Doctoral Candidacy Ceremony
• Meet with or ensure that the GSA has representation with all relevant parties on campus
• Ensure that regularly scheduled Senate Meetings meetings are held during the academic year
• Work with other members of the GSA to identify and resolve issues facing graduate students
• Meet with Associate Dean, EAA, OGSL, and other Executive Council members as needed throughout the year
• Meet with and maintain strong working relationships with the other Senates with the President
• Plan and organize events and meetings concerning the Executive Council; including, but not limited to Council Meetings, Retreats, & Graduate School events
• Attend appropriate university meetings: Graduate Council, Middle States, USM Student Council, GPD Meetings
• Supervise other executive positions
• Chair all Council Meetings
• Ensure that the agendas of the Executive Council Meetings are created and distributed prior to the meeting
• Reserve the right to delegate additional issues and responsibilities to other Executive Council members or to committees, where appropriate
• Attend monthly meetings of the University System of Maryland Student Council

Vice President

Nominal Time Commitment: 5-10 hrs per week

The Office of the Vice President aides the Office of the President by helping to maintain the relationships with the relevant parties in the University System of Maryland and that exist in and around the UMBC community.

As such, the office has the following duties:

• Oversee the GSA in the absence of the President
• Chair Senate Meetings with the President to ensure proper procedure
• Represent the GSA with the President on the University Steering Committee
• Responsible for keeping up-to-date on major policy issues involving graduate students and higher education on a state and national level
• Work alongside the Graduate Senate to establish a GSA Legislative Advocacy Platform and then organize and attend state and federal policy ‘Advocacy Days’ to advocate for the policies outlined in the GSA platform
• Serve as the representative of the GSA to the Alumni Association Board in order to maintain and improve graduate-alumni relationships
• Work with the President to maintain strong working relationships with relevant parties on and off campus
• Oversee agenda creation for Official Senate Meetings
• Oversee resolution creation for Official Senate Meetings
• Work with Executive Council to ensure that the Official Senate Meeting agendas and other relevant documents are distributed

Treasurer

Nominal Time Commitment: 5-10 hrs per week

The Office of the Treasurer concerns itself with both the creation and reconciliation of the Annual GSA Budget.

As such, the office has the following duties:

• Responsible for developing and proposing an Annual Budget Proposal to the Graduate Senate for approval pursuant to the Annual Points of Policy
• Work with Graduate School in the development of the Annual Budget Proposal
• Responsible for authorizing and monitoring all expenditures made by or on behalf of the GSA
• Responsible for ensuring that GSA spends within budgeted limits and that funds are properly allocated to any relevant party in accordance to the Governing Documents.
• Responsible for maintaining the budget, monitoring GSA funds throughout the year, and making reports of spending and financial issues at Council Meetings and Senate
• Meetings
• Serve as the ex-officio chair for any committee dealing with financial matters concerning graduate students
• Work with the EAA to reconcile the Annual GSA Budget
• Monitor and help the GSA comment on finance policy issues
• Represent the position of the GSA at the Fee Forum
• Act as the Graduate Program Fee holder
• Responsible for information delivered to the Student Fee Advisory Board

Historian

Nominal Time Commitment: 5-10 hrs per week

The Office of the Historian concerns itself with the preservation of all of the proceedings of the structures of the GSA.

As such, the office has the following duties:

• Determine which programs and organizations are in good standing, as defined by the Governing Documents
• Keep programs and organizations informed about their standing
• Record minutes and attendance at all Council Meetings and Senate Meetings
• Ensure that accurate minutes of the Senate Meetings and Council Meetings are available to the public
• Keep an accurate record of the history of the GSA at UMBC
• Serve as curator of GSA Website
• Act as Parliamentarian at Official Senate Meetings by ensuring proper conduct during the Meetings and ensure adherence to the Governing Documents

GEARS Chair

Nominal Time Commitment: 5-10 hrs per week

• Develop and maintain budget for GEARS funds in concert with Treasurer and Graduate School
• Advocate for GEARS at various meetings and events
• Demonstrate confidence in speaking to groups of faculty, staff, and deans
• Manage meetings
• Assign tasks
• Meet with individual members of the committee and also other stakeholders in GEARS
• Follow Up meetings with the Graduate School
• Be able to delegate tasks
• Develop annual work plan for GEARS Committee (before first meeting)
• Guide GEARS Committee to create individual work plans
• Ensure work plans are adhered to
• Plan/Lead/Facilitate 3MT
• Develop and Send out GEARS Surveys and Information
• Encourage committee member participation

GAAC Chair

Nominal Time Commitment: 5-10 hrs per week

• Must be a Graduate Assistant
• Represent positions and opinions of UMBC GAs to the Graduate School, Graduate Senate, and other bodies, where necessary
• Coordinate any legislative work relating to GAs
• Coordinate review of GA Handbook
• Coordinate review of GA Health Insurance as well as other benefits and obligations regarding GAs
• Work with other members of the GSA to identify and resolve issues facing graduate assistants
• Supervise other members of the GAAC
• Develop and maintain the budget for the GAAC
• Ensure collaboration and collegial relationships with administrative partners

Legislative Concerns Chair

Nominal Time Commitment: 5-10 hrs per week

• Lead investigations of various local, State, and Federal policies as they affect higher education
• Develop Graduate Senate Advocacy Platform
• Coordinate State Advocacy Day for Senate
• Plan and organize legislator engagement events
• Develop and maintain Committee Budget
• To the best of your ability, be the point person for all legislative issues that arise
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with state legislatures

Gabriel Duran received a BS in Geography and Environmental Systems and a BA in Biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2020. He is now a Biology MSc student with a focus in biogeochemistry at the Université du Québec à Montréal. He is also a Research Assistant at the Woodwell Climate Research Center where he is supporting the arctic research team in the mapping of gas emission craters and retrogressive thaw slumps across Northern Siberia. He previously supported the soil carbon team in the analysis of thousands of soil samples from across the Midwest United States using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. He is co-leader of Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE) where he created the URGE curriculum alongside Dr. Vashan Wright and continues to support and facilitate URGE initiatives, including live events, BIPOC Listening sessions, URGE deliverables, conference planning, etc.

Dr. Phoebe Cohen is an Associate Professor in Geosciences at Williams College. Phoebe is a paleontologist who utilizes a wide variety of microscopic and microchemical techniques, combined with data from field-based stratigraphy and sedimentology, to reconstruct ancient organisms and ecosystems, mostly through the lens of microfossils. Much of her work focuses on the evolution of life in the Proterozoic, before the rise of animals. Phoebe received her undergraduate degree in Earth Systems Science at Cornell University and her PhD in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences school at Harvard University in 2010. Phoebe is very involved in justice, equity, diversity and inclusion work in the geosciences and is also actively involved in the Paleontological Society. In 2012, Phoebe was awarded the Geological Society of America Subaru Outstanding Woman in Science Award. Her research is funded by the NASA Astrobiology program, The American Chemical Society, and The National Science Foundation.