The GPSO general assembly discussed filling next academic year’s executive committee during a meeting Feb. 6.
The GPSO executive committee comprises four elected officers, four appointed officers and two hired staff.
“You do not have to be in GPSO to be in one of these positions next year,” GPSO President Brady Harman said. “It is completely open to anyone in the student body who is a graduate or professional student.”
The elected offices include president, vice president, treasurer and parliamentarian.
Filling a Student Academic Appointment position, the president works at least 20 hours a week, earning a $12,500 stipend and a fee remission for 12 credit hours per fall and spring semester and six credit hours per summer semester.
“I like to say that I wear two different hats,” Harman said.
Harman said he runs the general assembly meetings and executive board meetings in addition to holding 15 hours of office hours each week.
“I’m also making sure that everyone else is doing his or her job right and everything else is functioning right,” he said. “That’s a lot more time than you would think it is.”
Harman said that in addition to running GPSO meetings, he sits in on numerous campus and university meetings.
”I just got invited this past week to four different search and screening committees,” he said. “If you are interested in president, it is a different kind of time commitment than these other officers.”
The vice president, treasurer and parliamentarian earn a $1,000 fellowship: $500 during the fall semester and $500 during the spring semester.
The vice president, a position held by Justin Vasel, places GPSO delegates on campus and university committees, as well as GPSO standing and ad hoc committees.
The treasurer, a position held by Zach Bailey, prepares the annual budget, maintains financial records and provides financial updates.
And the parliamentarian, a position held by Skyler Hutto, takes minutes at general assembly meetings and executive board meetings, conducts the annual membership audit and is responsible for knowing the Robert’s Rules of Order.
Nominations are open until March 6. A GPSO representative can nominate any graduate or professional student, whether or not that student is a GPSO representative.
GPSO representatives will then vote during the GPSO general assembly meeting March 6, following a speech and a Q&A session with each nominee.
The appointed officers include the awards officer, the benefits officer, the diversity officer and the sustainability officer.
Applications are open until March 22. The GPSO executive committee will nominate the applicants and the GPSO general assembly will approve the nominees.
The hired staff rounds out the GPSO executive committee and includes the community development coordinator and the communications coordinator, a position that will be held by current communications coordinator, Jessie Mroz.
Applications are open until Feb. 27. The GPSO executive committee will select and approve the applicants.
The general assembly also discussed the annual membership audit, the process of determining how many general assembly seats are allotted to each school.
Previously, the general assembly allotted each degree within each school a certain number of seats.
If the degree comprised 200 or fewer students, the degree was allotted one seat; if the degree comprised between 201 and 400 students, the degree was allotted two seats and so on.
Last academic year, the general assembly voted to allot each school, rather than each degree within each school, a certain number of seats.
The general assembly will decide how allot next academic year’s seats during the GPSO general assembly meeting March 6.
