Graduate and Professional Student Council
General Assembly Meeting
1-15-2008 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Convene: 7:03 pm
I. Approval of the Minutes from 12/11/07
Move to approve the Minutes from the 12/11/07 meeting.
Motion Passes Unanimously
Elizabeth Rach – For information about the Martin Luther King Conversations, please contact Julie Roy by email at julie.roy@duke.edu.
Steve Misuraca – He wanted to be the point man for GPSC for a nationwide greening emphasis on 1/31 called “Focus the Nation.” Though this has been largely organized at the undergraduate level, he wanted to get as much GnP student involvement as possible. There will be everything from panel discussions to a sustainability fair to green teeshirts at the Duke basketball game saying “Live Green, Bleed Blue.” The whole day is about greening the Duke life as much as possible. Contact him with questions, he’ll be able to forward your questions to people who may be able to help answer them. UNC, ESPN, and really the whole country is involved.
Supriya Munshaw – There will be an event related to biotechnology opportunities in the Triangle area. This is the first organized event planned in association with the Postdoctoral Association. It will be an event dedicated to figuring out ways to put your science to work and how to explore opportunities in the biotechnology sector after graduation. Look for information related to this event in GPSCNews.
Yvonne Ford – There is a proposed bylaw change that will be discussed at the next meeting with regards to Young Trustee eligibility. Please look at this at gpsc.duke.edu in preparation for the meeting.
Christine Eyler –First, Exec has received many good points of feedback from responses to the online survey sent out last month, but only about 25 people responded, so they would like to encourage people to fill this out. Exec will then be assessing ways to concretely respond to suggestions for the remaining spring meetings. Secondly, she passed out slips of paper for people to write their contact information on so this can be posted online for the use of constituents. Finally, since there are a few new Reps, as well as some who never received the orientation “Rep101” packet last fall, see her if you would like one or have lost your copy.
Crystal Brown – There will be a slight change to the planned meeting schedule to accommodate President Brodhead, who will be speaking to the General Assembly on February 5th. There may be a location change for this meeting, but we will let you know. To be able to get him to talk, we will be moving the meeting that was planned for 2/12 to 2/5. (Editor’s note: There will then be meetings on the following Tuesdays: 1/29, 2/5, 2/26, 3/25, 4/8, 4/22).
Randy Clark – Would this cause any of the meetings to fall on the Tuesday of Spring Break?
Elizabeth Rach – No.
Move to approve the Spring Schedule as presented.
Motion Passes Unanimously
Stefan Gary – He and Pae Wu are here to give Reps an idea about the plans for Central Campus and to solicit feedback on these plans. In the planning, they’re talking about making improvements that will matter over a 100 year time scale. They’re not talking about putting just a couple of dorms down, but instead are discussing putting in an academic village. The prospect for this to impact GnP student life is enormous. He and Pae want to get information from the GA before they go to a working meeting to give the student-provided information to the BoT committee. For example, one thing they would like feedback on is: how hard should we push for GnP beds on central campus. (They passed out a questionnaire for Reps to fill out and return, and projected some statistics about the current Central Campus on the projector).
Patrick Palmieri – The statistic shown saying that no Graduate or Professional student was rejected housing on Central is misleading, because some of the limitations or stipulations related to the housing on Central make it so that it is difficult or impossible for GnP students to be able to live there, even though they may have wanted to if it were more accessible.
Wadia Haddaji – In the survey, one of the questions says “assume comparable rent and facilities.” This is one of the current problems – the conditions of the housing on Central are worse than in places off-campus and the prices are pretty high. If you keep the prices low, people will live there.
Eric Vance – A few years ago, there was an official survey sent out by the architects. Do you think that there will be another one soon?
Pae Wu – We can see if that will happen.
Peggy St. Jacques – Many people in her constituency use Central just for parking. Is the availability of parking going to change, or what will happen with the parking situation? Also, will there be separate parking for the people who live there and for those who have day parking there?
Pae Wu – Parking is included in this planning process. The intention is that there will be more parking, but they do not know who it will be assigned to, etc. Whether there will be separate parking for residents and day parkers will likely be determined by where they put the parking.
Amy Williams – We’re getting many emails recently about safety issues, especially around East campus. Depending on how things go with that, how are they planning to incorporate safety issues?
Stefan Gary – They haven’t discussed that yet because it is one of the details and right now they are focusing on major aspects of the planning.
Sara Becker – She was on Buildings and Grounds a few years ago and thinks that programmatically and architecturally Central will be much more appealing for GnP students as a potential residence. As much as we are able to, we should protect GnP student beds.
Cong Jin – She would suggest that the rent be made more reasonable since the rents off campus are slightly more reasonable.
Christine Eyler – Many international students she has spoken to feel as if it would be important to have easily accessible dining areas, possibly with a dining plan available, since many of these students do not have cars, especially during their first year in Durham.
Brandon Little – She feels unsafe on Central and it would be good to emphasize safety in the planning.
Sara Becker – Have there been numbers articulated for undergraduate beds? We should advocate for as many beds as possible for GnP students, perhaps aiming for at least the same percent GnP beds as there are currently.
Pae Wu – They heard 1200 undergraduate beds and 300 GnP beds, but this is not set.
IV. Student Groups Funding Approval
David Kahler – (He presented a list of funding amounts for approval). Aside from the things listed, he wanted to mention that there is a little bit of extra money left over this cycle, so if there is any opposition to what was posted on the website we could shift this around some. Each group submitted a separate application for each event.
Yvonne Ford – There are some events on there that have already taken place. Would we be approving funding retroactively then?
David Kahler – Yes.
Michael Schwartz – He wanted to see increased funding for the Microfinance group in Fuqua.
David Kahler – Though academic/cultural lectures can get money for food/drinks, other groups cannot. Also, the committee thought that the amount asked for might not have matched what was actually needed for the requested activities.
Elizabeth Rach – She is pretty sure that they also applied to Fuqua for funding, and had pending funding from other sources as well.
Wadia Haddaji – There were some things that money was requested for where the amount requested did not seem to align with how much it would cost to fund the stated activity.
Sara Becker – Is there an appeals process for the funding amounts up here
David Kahler – Not right now.
Move to approve the Spring Group Funding budget as presented.
Motion Passes
V. Dr. Larry Moneta, Student Affairs
Elizabeth Rach – She would like to introduce Dr. Larry Moneta, Vice President for Student Affairs. He is very involved in policy formation related to Student Affairs, but he also teaches courses and consults all over the country. His publications board include a very large number of publications. We greatly appreciate him taking time to speak with us
Dr. Larry Moneta – He hopes today’s conversation is a dialogue. He asked for the opportunity to speak with us because he wanted to talk about how Student Affairs (SA) serves GnP students. He’s talked to many GnP students and they usually respond that SA doesn’t serve them but he feels that this couldn’t be farther from the truth. You can go www.studentaffairs.duke.edu to see the administrative units in more detail.
In anticipation of this meeting, he asked all of his asst VPs and unit directors to send in what they do for GnP students. He wanted to pick out some highlights to share with the GA.
In terms of health, roughly half of all of the students CAPS and Student Health sees are GnP students, and given the fact that GnP students are year round it is almost more effort to serve this population. The GnP student leadership in SHIAC has been exemplary. The Request For Proposals (RFP) was led by the GnP students on the advisory committee. We’ve endeavored to keep student insurance prices as low as possible, while keeping the benefits as rich as possible. We are also growing considerable services for access to CAPS for addictions therapy, eating disorders, etc.
Considering non-health related services provided by SA for GnP students, there are the identity centers. He learned a large degree of how international students are supported by International House. The LGBT center has a high degree of involvement with many different large groups of people. The Mary Lou Williams center has a good deal of involvement with the black student population. What was impressive for him was that other than the obvious entities (like NAPC) virtually every one of the departments had a lot of work done for GnP students.
SAs for the University (his office) coordinates and communicates with the student affairs groups for all of the schools/colleges (e.g. Fuqua, School of Medicine, etc). There is a monthly meeting for all of these staff.
There are some areas of deficiency. The most important thing aside from housing is the career center. Something that comes up regularly as an area of weakness is career services. There is one person dedicated for this for the entire graduate school. It is the smallest part of what we do but it is what we’re hearing the most about. There is greater interest in how one might deploy one’s degree than there was before, due to increased numbers of opportunities outside of academic careers. Dean Wright and he commissioned a study from Dean Looney about this that they will be going through.
One area that he doesn’t have responsibility for but is involved with is athletics. He’s on the subcommittee for a plan for health and physical education. This is an opportunity to think about the best way to get an idea of GnP student needs on the recreation front.
One of the tricks for the office of SA is the generic services for all GnP students versus the unique services for each program/school. The GnP student population is far more varied and they constantly look for ways to contact us. They want to hear our needs and feel out how to improve these areas of need.
Elizabeth Rach – There is student health for students but the dental health of many is lacking. Is there the potential for getting a dentist on campus for students?
Dr. Moneta – This is an issue worthy of discussion. Unfortunately right now we don’t have the necessary facilities, but this could possibly be carved out somewhere. He’s not sure to what extent this would be a Pandora’s Box, and it might be expensive.
Yvonne Ford – Perhaps preventative dental services would not be as expensive but would be very cost effective in preventing major dental health issues.
Wadia Haddaji – He has a question concerning recreation – right now student clubs are not able to be started by GnP students. Some of the arguments given defending this are that there are not spaces and we do not pay as much in fees. However, allowing GnP students to start clubs could enrich the whole culture.
Dr. Moneta – He endorses moving toward allowing GnP students to initiate clubs. As things exist, there are not adequate facilities. Woefully inadequate in field space, in swimming facilities, and in other areas. The Deans from the Fuqua/Law area of campus have talked about putting something out behind the Law/Fuqua/etc schools. For legitimiate strategic planning we have to plan new facilities, and this might make it better for GnP students in terms of starting clubs.
Wadia Haddaji – Graduate students have difficulties participating even in intramural sports. Husbands/wives/partners cannot participate. To have more space for that would be great.
Dr. Moneta – All the plans are to have more dense spaces on Central to open up more space for recreational facilities.
Xing Zong – The student insurance plan usually doesn’t include student family members. Many international students come and their dependents are uninsured.
Dr. Moneta – Actually, this is available for families but there are high prices. The costs are limited by the benefits structure.
Eric Vance – Students with families actually get a break because it ends up working out that people not in families contribute roughly $100 for the sake of people with family coverage
Elizabeth Rach – In terms of activities that had been popular with GPSC-sponsored events she thought there are horseback facilities that could be accessed for the sake of enriching recreation opportunities.
Dr. Moneta – This is a good point - we don’t own our own ski slopes or horse stables so we have to continue to outsource some aspects of our recreational offerings. The notion of horseback riding and other local activities is appealing both in order to support the economy and to enrich the opportunities for students.
Heather LaBreche – She was wondering if the results from the task force from Dean Wright will be public.
Dr. Moneta – Yes
Crystal Brown – Also, Deans Wright and Looney will be here later this semester to talk to us.
Eric Vance – Does the office have any ideas on how to increase interaction of GnP students and/or with undergraduates
Moneta – That is an interesting question. Among other things, he is hoping that every DukeEngage project might have a GnP leader, that GnP students may have more of a role in conjuction with the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Eric Vance – There is a new Undergraduate Education Dean, but is there a possibility for a GnP Student Education dean?
Dr. Moneta – He wouldn’t say no, but it seems less likely given the many schools associated with GnP students. He’s not sure structurally if making an analogous position is the best way to succeed. That doesn’t mean that the experience can’t be extended to the GnP student population.
Jessi Bardill – She was wondering if he could speak to the idea of student groups getting funding. She’s confronted the idea that the University Cultural fund is not funding GnP groups anymore. She’s wondering why this is the case.
Dr. Moneta – He’s been here 6.5 years – there were 230 undergraduate clubs/organizations for undergraduates when he got there, but now there are above 400. He was not aware that the Fund was going to cut out GnP students, so he’ll look into it. The best opportunity for other student group funding might be through donor support (versus “taxing” students through increased fees, etc). They’ll have their own full time fundraiser. Right now, he’ll say that he agrees.
Eric Vance – Did you say that you had plans to hire someone else for the Career Center?
Dr. Moneta – He plans to take seriously the suggestions provided in the report he commissioned. It’s just a function of where the resources will come from. This is an area of priority for him for him and he would like to do as much as possible to increase the resources in the Career Center.
Xing Zong – In Fuqua there are 10 people in career services, whereas in the graduate school there is 1 person for 2000 people. Virginia is doing a great job, but we should leverage alumni resources to get students jobs. He feels like there is a disconnect with potentially helpful alumni.
Dr. Moneta – He thinks that makes great sense. Central Campus plans will likely include the construction of a new Career Center. The current plan is to co-locate it with the new Alumni Center. We want to leverage the willingness of alumni. They’ve been very successful with local retirees for involvement with Career Services. It is a good idea and we will do that, but there will also be a need for staff. A couple more people will make a huge difference in terms of coordinating such alumni involvement.
Patrick Palmieri – Are there any capital programs for GnP support.
Dr. Moneta – There are some substantial planning efforts for a campaign, but the Financial Aid Initiative is the number one priority right now. In any one of the various programs or schools there are substantial fundraising efforts.
Amy Williams – If you’re interested in recreation and what might help with GnP students, she thinks more information regarding accessibility and availability of recreational resources would be helpful.
Dr. Moneta – Unfortunately, due to the lack of resources he’s not trying to market these services, so the priority is to discover the comprehensive need to bring forth the proposals for resource expansion that will allow them to be more deliberate in advertising to students. Right now the response to encouraging participation would be frustration.
Ali Saaem – Could you speak to the possibility of schools offering classes to students from other schools?
Dr. Moneta – There are limitations for all of these things, e.g. funding from Fuqua for Fuqua students. The professional schools are collaborative and enjoy seeing other students, but they would say that they are sized to their needs. There needs to be greater cooperativity and a better centralization.
Crystal Brown – Relating back to Dean Nowicki’s position over Undergraduate Affairs is that in a lot of meetings Dean Nowicki represents the undergrads in various meetings and due to the lack of a person with a similar role it often comes to Crystal to represent us, but she’s still a student. It would be good to have someone besides a student there to speak up. We don’t have someone with authority that represents the GnP student population exclusively to speak up for us.
Dr. Moneta – He’s not sure if replicating Dean Nowicki’s position would be the most efficient way of doing this. He’s not sure if trying to insert someone between the Provost and the Dean would work. The voices need to be heard, but the means of doing this should be looked at.
Eric Vance – Where would be the best place to build a grad student bar?
Dr. Moneta – One of the plans is to put a graduate center in the Bryan Center. He’s conflicted on what this will turn into since the center of gravity is unclear for GnP students.
Anna-Marie Laura – We’ve talked before about how people would use this center; this might be more administrative due to the distribution of students around campus.
Adjourn: 8:20 pm