GPSC HISTORY
In 2000, the Dean of Graduate Studies, Dale
Johnson had a conversation with Patrick Cannon, a doctoral
candidate in Communication, who was at the time working in
Graduate Studies as the "Graduate Student In Residence." The
Dean mentioned to Patrick that a University committee to discuss
a possible tuition increase had convened without graduate
student feedback. He and Patrick both agreed that this was not
in the best interests of graduate students.
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The Dean also added that he thought it was time USF had its own
graduate student organization, since most major universities have
one. Dean Johnson asked Patrick if he would be interested in making
that happen.
Patrick held a series of meetings with a number of graduate
students, including: Catherine Shannon-Arvanitopoulos, Amy Moffat,
Scott Dick, and Lee Lucas. All agreed that having an organization
representing the interests of USF graduate students was very much
needed at USF. Having received feedback from many graduate students,
the first question pertained to what kind of organization graduate
students wanted to create. After soliciting feedback from the
graduate student population, Patrick discovered there was virtually
a universal consensus that graduate students should form a separate
organization from USF's Student Government. The thinking was that
Student Government, whose primary mission is to support social life
on campus, and consisting almost exclusively of undergraduates, was
not the best vehicle to increase the influence of graduate students.
Official Formation
Thus, the GPSO was officially formed in February 2001 after nearly
a year of discussions between graduate students about how to
proceed. The first GPSO officers were Patrick Cannon (President),
Catherine Shannon-Arvanitopoulos (VP), Kelly Browning (Treasurer),
and Gigi Brathwaite (Secretary).
In addition to the type of organization graduate students
needed, another prevalent concern was the lack of funding for
attending professional and academic conferences. With the
indispensable assistance of Student Government Business Manager Joe
Synovec and the welcome support of Student Government President Tyvi
Small and Vice President, Tara Klimek, the Conference Presentation
Grant Program was born.
Seeing that Student Government was indeed willing to consider
the interests of USF graduate students, once the GPSO began meeting,
perspectives on the nature of the organization and its relationship
to Student Government began to evolve.
Patrick Cannon writes,
"Looking back on those days, it is clear to me that
what largely motivated this preference was a lack of
understanding of how Student Government operates, as well as an
unfounded suspicion on the part of graduate students toward
undergraduates and Student Government. Once Student Government
President Mike Griffin and I began to meet, however, we soon
discovered the common ground between us, and it became obvious
that it was actually to the graduate students’ advantage, and to
the benefit of the University as a whole if the GPSO joined the
Student Organizations family and worked with the existing
Student Government."
The GPSO therefore decided to become a registered organization
with the Student Activities Office and to apply for funding through
the Student Government Funding Process.
Year One
In the first year of operation, in addition to creating, with the
generous support of Student Government, the Conference Presentation
Grant Program, the GPSO:
- Forged and cultivated a new cooperative relationship between
graduate students and Student Government
- Formulated and developed a strategy for enhancing student
participation on USF policy committees, working with the
President’s office, the Provost, Student Affairs, and Student
Government
- Facilitated the formation of five new graduate student
organizations
- Increased graduate student participation in University
policy-making, thereby raising the visibility of USF graduate
student issues
- Assisted in designing Institutional Research’s Graduate
Student Exit Questionnaire
- Offered workshops and discussion forums of special interest to
graduate students
These achievements would not have been possible without the
cooperation and collaboration of the following people and their
staffs: President Judy Genshaft, Provost David Stamps, Vice
President Harold Nixon, and the Student Government Business Manager,
David Armstrong. Each of these University partners provided USF
graduate students with an unprecedented access to the highest levels
of the University, thus making it possible to increase the graduate
student voice at the University of South Florida.
Upon completion of the first GPSO Presidency, Patrick encouraged
a new group of graduate students, along with Treasurer Kelly
Browning, to take the helm and lead the GPSO into its second year as
the Voice of USF Graduate Students.
In the spring of 2002, the GPSO General Assembly elected the
officers for 2002-2003: Kelly Browning (President), Rachel Smoker
(VP), Athy Fitos (Secretary), and Jeffrey Thibert (Treasurer).
2002 - 2003 : Establishing the Council
In the 2002-2003 school year, 3,155 began graduate study at USF.
From discussions with the Graduate and Professional Student Council
(GPSC) and with current graduate students, it became increasingly
clear that a much more extensive orientation effort was needed at
the University level, and in many cases, at the college and program
level.
To help meet this need, income from the one time $35 Graduate
Fee will be used to fund a Comprehensive Graduate Student
Council Program. Resources will be provided to the GPSC in support
of their current and planned greatly expanded university level
orientation activities as well as via GPSC to the individual
colleges in support of college and departmental orientation
activities. Additional support will be provided to support the
graduate orientation activities at the regional campuses.
As specially permitted by Florida Statute 1009.24 (12b)
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