GPSC Annual Retreat
September 6th and 7th
Sign up here: http://gpsc.duke.edu/survey/GPSCRetreat2008 by September 5th (5pm)
The 2008 Annual GPSC Retreat has been scheduled:
When: Saturday and Sunday, September 6th and 7th
Where: Chestnut Ridge Camp in Efland, NC (map)
What: This is the fourth annual GPSC retreat. This year the retreat will focus on information to graduate and professional student leaders as well as teambuilding. We have arranged for the group to particpate in a challenge course and there will be opportunities to participate in other activities (depending on interest) such as hiking, swimming, canoeing, high ropes, and a zip line.
Transportation will be provided to and from Duke University. There will also be a location to leave your car should you drive to campus to get the bus. The bus will leave West Campus at 8:00am on Saturday morning and we plan to return to Duke at 3:30pm Sunday afternoon.
What will be going on during the retreat:
The training sessions offered will include:
Starting a Departmental Student Government
Starting a new Student Group
Leadership Training
Cultural Awareness
Technology and Student Groups
Event Planning
Community Service
As well as brainstorming sessions to help guide GPSC efforts in:
Health care
Parking and Transportation
Career Services
Graduate and Professional student life - the next five years
In addition to all of the teambuilding and other activities such as:
Challenge course (low ropes)
High ropes challenge course
Zip line
Canoeing/kayaking
Swimming
Hiking
Lawn games
Who should come:
We hope that student leaders from all around the campus will join us this year! Specifically:
GPSC Department Representatives
Student Group Leaders
International Student Leaders
Professional School Government Leaders
How do I sign up:
The retreat is free - food, accommodations, and transportation will be provided, but to reserve your spot we are asking for a $10 deposit. As long as you participate in the retreat, you will have your deposit refunded. See below for the official policy.
When you sign up you will be asked to prioritize both the informational and brainstorming sessions as well as the teambuilding and other activities that you wish to participate in - please take a look at the list above or the descriptions below if you are unsure what items you would like to sign up for.
To sign up for the retreat fill out the form at: http://survey.oit.duke.edu/ViewsFlash/servlet/viewsflash?cmd=page&pollid=GPSC!GPSCRetreat2008
The official retreat policy is:
Any graduate or professional student is allowed and encouraged to sign up for the retreat. We will attempt to reach a representative amount of graduate and professional students; so there will be priority given to students from certain constituencies. All students who sign up will be asked for a deposit to hold his or her spot on the retreat. If the retreat fills up and we must fill certain spots by the aforementioned priorities, any student not able to join us on the retreat will have their deposit refunded as soon as possible. Students who sign up are expected to attend the retreat for the entire time as this event represents a significant investment in each student leader. The entire time means from Saturday at 8:00am to Sunday at 3:30pm. Any deviations to this must be requested in advance and responded to in writing by the Vice President; there will be certain exceptions for emergencies at the discretion of the retreat committee. As long as the student leader attends the retreat for the entire time, he or she will have the deposit refunded. All deviations or cancellations must be made before August 31 at 5:00pm or the deposit will be lost. Students are encouraged to sign up for the retreat until it is full, or the Thursday before the retreat begins.
Session descriptions:
I. Starting a Department Government
Are you interested in starting a student government in your own department? This session will help you get started. The topics covered will include: "What can a student government do for me?", "How can I do to develop interest?", "How should I write a charter?", "How can we find financial support?", "Who can I go to for help?". This session will be lead by:
"Name" the "Position" and
"Name" the "Position"
II. Starting a New Student Group
Are you interested in starting a new student group that will incorporate graduate and professional students at Duke? This session will help you get started. Topics covered will include: "How can I develop interest for my group?", "Who should I talk to first to get started?", "What steps are necessary to affiliate my group?", "How can my group address issues on campus such as environmental awareness?". This session will be lead by:
"Name" the "Position" and
"Name" the "Position"
III. Leadership Training
Have you ever felt that you could be more effective as a student leader? This is you opportunity to learn some of the techniques that effective leaders use to get things done efficiently. This session will cover an introduction to group dynamics, understanding different personality types and management styles. This session will be lead by:
"Name" the "Position" and
"Name" the "Position"
IV. Cultural Awareness
Duke is an extraordinarily multicultural environment to work in. This has enormous benefits, but can also lead to unexpected effects. This session is designed to help you as a leader to understand cultural issues you may face on campus with an emphasis on how our diversity can improve student life. This session will be lead by:
"Name" the "Position" and
"Name" the "Position"
V. Technology and Student Groups
It's the 21st century and I can't get my group on a single mailing list! This session will explore communication technologies that are available to you through duke. This will include an introduction to creating listserves, using the survey tool and using duke-pass and GPSCNews to promote your groups events. We will also fill you in on who to talk to in OIT to get things done. This session will be lead by:
"Name" the "Position" and
"Name" the "Position"
VI. Event Planning
Duke offers an enormous number of resources when it comes to holding events. So many, in fact, that it can be completely overwhelming. Let us break it down for you. In this session GPSC pro's will fill you in on the inside story when it comes to event planning. Topics will include event spaces, catering, interaction with OSAF, graduate students and alcohol and advertising. This session will be lead by:
"Name" the "Position" and
"Name" the "Position"
VII. Community Service
Graduate and Professional students do an incredible amount of community service on and off campus. This session is designed to introduce student leaders to the office of community service as well as to other groups on campus that are involved to service activities. The goal of this session is to bring the graduate and professional student leaders who are involved in service together so that we can work together as a more cohesive unit.
VIII. Brainstorming Sessions: are just that, so come with your ideas and thoughts:
University Committees and how to get involved: There are many opportunities to get involved with the University, come see what opportunities exist and brainstorm where GPSC can become a better advocate for students.
Transportation and Safety: is there something that you think GPSC should be advocating for to Parking and Transportation? Do you have any ideas about how to improve parking and transportation around campus? What are your thoughts on safety around campus and your commute?
New/Central Campus: Come see what is going on with the new campus plans and how Duke is growing.
Sustainability at Duke: Come learn what Duke is doing to support sustainability and learn how you can get involved. Also, explore how GPSC can be better advocates of sustainability at Duke.