Minutes from meeting of
April 2, 2001

Call to order: 7:04.

Secretary's report: Minutes of February approved. No minutes for March.

Treasurer's report:
$2,373.13 this semester spent. Budget adjustment up of $489. Total budget as of Jan 1, 2001: $13, 899.38 (Preliminary Budgets for 2001: $7,900 included in this figure). We spent 113% of last of year's budget, but this is only 46% of the total budget this year. We envisioned that grad council would provide more funding. We could do a better job with orientation. Also, we could do something like research health insurance plans. We really need to find more ways to spend money. We did fund some new groups.

Question: Do we know how much has been allocated and not spent? We need to get information out early in the year about the possibility of funding.

Presidential report:
Meeting with Dean Plogg and Osheim: Used to be three deans in charge of graduate studies, now there will be two. They have graduate travel grants. They have about $50,000 for grants. They want to formalize the procedure by working through the graduate advisors. They were very supportive, and they asked that we meet with them regularly. They agreed that there wasn't a good way to contact grads, and they want to create a list. (There are a number of grads who are not on Harmon's e-mail list; nursing, for example).

We spoke to them about health insurance. Osheim believes it will happen in a year or two. There is a lot of awareness and everybody is on our side. For example, there were outside review committees, and they were appalled at the state of grad funding. We focused on health insurance, and they told us to immediately focus on general funding once we get insurance. We need to keep it at crisis level, because this is how the budget people react.

QualChoice: They voted to adopt the two plans. It was made clear to QualChoice how unhappy the students were. The Student Health people told us that we were getting a good plan for our money. We told them that students are suspicious about the relationship between the university and QualChoice. We asked that they open it to open bidding. It seems that it is impossible for any insurance provider to lock in any rates for any amount of time. The pool is so small, that any large cases raises the overall rates. Most HMOs cap at $100,000 to $150,000. The independent evaluator said that we won't find a cheaper plan with the same level of benefits. QualChoice and Student Health strongly wanted to merge the two plans. It would help the control the cost of people on the Orange plan. The White plan people subsidize Orange to a certain extent. As healthy people leave White, the rates go up. Next year the two will be combined and the rates with skyrocket. Providing health insurance will help the university save QualChoice. This is an argument for us. There is no doubt that QualChoice is a good value for what they provide.

QualChoice and Student Health strongly wanted to merge the two plans. It would help the control the cost of people on the Orange plan. The White plan people subsidize Orange to a certain extent. As healthy people leave White, the rates go up. Next year the two will be combined and the rates with skyrocket. Providing health insurance will help the university save QualChoice. This is an argument for us. There is no doubt that QualChoice is a good value for what they provide.

Justin's group: they had about 20-30 people at the second meeting. They plan a petition drive (community and grad students); they will investigate other plans; they want to threaten leaving QualChoice. They want to protest at Casteen's State of the University address, which will help keep up a crisis mentality. There was Daily Progress today. Inside UVA said they will run something.

They are now funding health insurance for Presidential fellows. Physics and Bio now cover health insurance. Chem will add it next year.

Honor: couldn't make this meeting.

New Business: Graduate student funding committee. Creating recommendations that will be given to Casteen. They realize that health insurance and stipends are the two main concerns.

Research exhibition committee: Josh met with Osheim. He will reserve Newcomb Hall for us. The alumni association has just set up 50 Jefferson fellowships for graduate students. Osheim wants to coordinate the interviews for these fellowship interviews with the research exhibition. If we want to coordinate with him, we need to start working now. It should be around the last week in February. Committee apointed: Kelly Erickson, Stacey Sedore, Joshua Kempner, and Todd Price (ex officio).

Dean of Students office is re-evaluating the strategic plan for the university.

Officers appointed: Todd Price, president; Khyrs X. Myrddin, secretary; Robert Grossman, treasury.

Final meeting will be April 30 at a bar.

We could do an end of the semester social. We should remember that the last bombed.

We couldn't reimburse people for 70s party, since they handled their books incorrectly.

Robert was at the meeting for career planning for graduate students. Focusing on non-academic placement. This will be a long term position. If there is an actually position, we should ask them if they have idea that we can fund.

Dan: Environmental science has put together a letter asking for health insurance. Another way of keeping the issue alive.

Committee on curriculum. Boutique majors: concern about this taking away classes from the courses offered to graduate students. Our rep is also pushing to impose minimum requirements so that we have better students in the classes.

Minutes from meeting of April 2, 2001

Minutes from meeting of
April 2, 2001