MINUTES OF THE GSAS COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1994 PEABODY HALL, ROOM 107 IN ATTENDANCE: Brian R. Menard, GSAS President/GSAS Honor Committee Representative Bob Stacey, GSAS Treasurer Phil Gates, GSAS Honor Committee Representative/Religious Studies John Dinan, GSAS Judiciary Committee Representative Pat DeNoia, GSAS Student Council Representative Monique Dull, English Laura Kohn, Psychology Mark Stefani, Neuroscience (Graduate Biomedical Society) Jeff Halverson, Environmental Science John Howland, Government & Foreign Affairs Steven Apsel, Physics Melanie Doyle, French Tim Russell, Art History Bill Dalton, Astronomy Joan Clifford, Spanish Chris Naticchia, Philosophy Mary Jo Burke, Classics Ruth Sameth, Classics Katherine Kitzmann, Psychology Tom Ambrosio, Government & Foreign Affairs o Call to order, 6:32 p.m. o Minutes of the 2/2/94 meeting approved as presented on the GWIS. o Treasurer's Report, Stacey: January budget figures from the University list approximately $3000 remaining in the GSAS Council account. This does not take into consideration costs since January or costs for the remainder of the year. The GSAS Council budget surplus remains roughly $2000 for appropriations purposes. o Ex Officio Reports Honor Committee: -- Menard described the current dual sanction proposal, and encouraged reps to study and vote on the referendum in the upcoming University-wide elections on February 28-March 1. Judiciary Committee: -- Dinan had nothing to report. Student Council: -- DeNoia had no SC news to report, but passed around material concerning a survey of graduate student financial needs to be developed and sent out at a later date. o President's Report Menard reminded reps of the opportunity to list activities and programs in the "News and Announcements" directory of the Grad Council's GWIS space. Anyone -- whether Council rep or not -- wishing to list an announcement in the space should send the message (in final form) to "gsascncl.gwis.virginia.edu" and it will be transferred to the listing. GSAS Elections, along with University-wide elections, will be held on Monday, February 28, and Tuesday, March 1. Potential candidates have expressed interest in several positions, but a great need for more candidates remains to fill all the open slots on the GSAS Council Executive Board and among University-wide committees (Honor, Judiciary, SC). The Graduate Council will cosponsor, with the OCPP, a professional workshop for nonacademically directed graduate students later this spring. Details will follow. Dinan, Stacey, Menard, and Burke described their experiences at the President's Graduate Student Retreat on January 21, 1994. Bruce Willis, another attendee, will discuss issues regarding families, spouses, and partners at the 3/2 meeting. o Department Concerns Russell brought up his concern for the Graduate School's loss of roughly $500,000 in Academic Enhancement Funds, transferred to the Medical School. The funds have been used since 1989 as seed money to help push departments into national prominence. While the transfer of these funds cannot be stopped, Russell urged the Council to press Interim Provost Peter Lowe to find alternative funds to replace those being transferred. Russell will draft a letter for the Council's consideration at the 3/2 meeting. o Old Business Use of GSAS Student Activity Fee Revenue: -- Dean Stump addressed the Council to urge establishing tight spending criteria that take into consideration the limited supply of funds currently available for appropriation and the precedent appropriations decisions set for future requests. Stacey cautioned against restricting Council spending to Council-run activities, pointing out the potential imbalance between the desire for the Council to put on activities and the willingness/ability of reps to participate in the division of labor this would require. Debate ensued among the Council reps, ranging from the desire to keep all spending in-house through Council-sponsored events to making certain not to tie the Council's hands in spending decisions by precluding appropriations outside official Council activities. Suggestions for activities to fund included speakers (from outside/inside the University), social events (independently or cosponsored with the University Union Grad Committee), interdepartmental/interdisciplinary conferences, funding a common graduate student area, focusing on building up Council communications and group activities. This issue was tabled, to be taken up at the 3/2 meeting. Provisional Appropriations for the Spring '94 Semester: -- Menard began by emphasizing the provisional ad hoc nature of the spring '94 semester appropriations. Because the Council has not yet adopted formal spending and appropriations guidelines, any appropriations made prior to the adoption of such guidelines would set no precedent for spending and appropriations decisions made following the adoption of such guidelines. Stacey then led the presentations of requests, passing around those written requests he had received in accord with instructions send to department reps by Menard over e-mail. -- Art History: Russell presented a request for $100 for publicity and other costs related to its spring conference, which includes papers from students in various departments. Dull moved to appropriate $235 to Art History. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. -- English: Dull presented a request for $370 for costs related to its spring conference, which includes papers from students in various departments. Naticchia moved to appropriate $370 to English. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. -- Classics: Sameth and Burke presented a request for up to $870.40 for travel and lodging costs to be incurred by seven Classics Department students attending a conference. Stacey explained the request had come after the instructed deadline, and did not meet the recommended criterion of interdepartmental activity. Debate ensued questioning the propriety of the request, given its failure to meet various recommended criteria that may have kept other departments from making similar requests, and the problem of setting a precedent for travel fund requests through the remainder of the spring semester. Menard ruled that because the Council had not yet adopted spending guidelines, it was within the right of Classics to make the request, though the Council could choose to make no appropriation. He further ruled that following this meeting, spring '94 appropriations would be considered closed; however, until the Council adopted formal spending guidelines additional funding requests brought to the Council would be in order. Kohn moved to appropriate $100 to Classics. The motion was seconded. Naticchia moved to amend the motion to appropriate an additional $50 for travel and lodging costs to be incurred by a Philosophy Department student attending a conference. The amendment was seconded, then rejected by the Council 3-11. DeNoia made a friendly amendment to increase the appropriation to $105. The question was called unanimously, and the Council passed the motion 8-6. o Menard announced the return of the Grad Social, sponsored by the U-Union Grad Committee, to take place in the Garden Room (above the Columnade Hotel) on Friday, February 18, 5:00-7:00 p.m. o Adjourned, 8:15 p.m.