Elected graduate student division representatives are the core of the Graduate Student Council (GSC), as they guide the organization toward improving the graduate student experience for all graduate students at Caltech. These representatives (officially called “directors”) become members of the GSC’s Board of Directors (BoD, the voting body of the GSC) and are additionally involved with various committees and subcommittees within the GSC.
Each division has a maximum number of elected representatives with voting responsibilities within the GSC, proportional to the number of graduate students in that division. When there are less sign-ups than available representatives for a division, no confirmation vote is needed. In rare cases where there are more candidates than available spots, an election is held. The candidates with the most votes will become “directors” and all other candidates can become “associate directors” who fulfill the same responsibilities, but act in a non-voting capacity.
The basic responsibilities of all directors include:
- Attendance at monthly meetings of the Board of Directors (e.g. discussion of current issues, occasional votes on the GSC’s formal position, votes on club/event funding). Between meetings, representatives are expected to stay up-to-date on those issues through the GSC’s Slack workspace.
- Serve on at least one of the four primary committees (or their subcommittees): academics, advocacy, social, or strategic communications (more information on these committees can be found here) – this is where most of the GSC’s work happens.
- Serve as an advocate for and representative of graduate students within their division, possibly interfacing with division-specific representative bodies.
For more details, you can review the bylaws and statutes of the GSC.
If you are interested in becoming a division representative, please send the following candidate information along with nomination “signatures” (see below) to tkoehne@caltech.edu and/or mli3@caltech.edu by End of Day on Friday, May 13th:
Name:
Division:
Option:
Year:
Committees/subcommittees of interest:
In a few sentences, what is your motivation to work in the GSC?
Please copy (CC) at least two graduate students from your division when you submit your candidate information. These will serve as your signatures of support for your candidacy (as required by the GSC’s bylaws).
An election will take place at the end of May (TBD) for all divisions where more people signed up than there are available spots. All graduate students of those divisions will be able to cast a vote. The confirmed division representatives will go on to elect GSC officers (Chairs, Treasurer, Secretary) as well as all committee chairs. Food gift cards will be given to all attendees.
At the ticket-booths for GSC’s Spring Formal (Monday and Tuesday, May 9-10 @ 12-2PM outside Red Door), representatives will be available to answer all questions you may have about the process and what it means to be a division representative. There will also be an additional in-person info booth (with cupcakes!) later that week (Thursday, May 12 @ 11:30AM – 1PM at Red Door/Olive Walk) as well as a Zoom option (Wednesday, May 11 @ 3-4PM; link can be found in the email from Tobias Koehne).