October GSO/Faculty Meeting Minutes October 26th, 2021 GSO attending members: Fox Foley, Jane Glanzer, Ali Crisp Faculty Members: Jeff Blackmon, Catherine Deibel, Rob Hynes, Kip Matthews Total meeting time: 46 minutes
September/October Updates:
1. Updates from September
Thank you for the extra HEPA air filter(s)!
2. This month’s discussion: Faculty search updates?
Hearne: one candidate whom committee is interested in; materials. Has in person visit in November, Thanksgiving-ish. James Sauls @ Northwestern.
Approved for 3 other searches: exp. Materials (Dave Young, Phil DEIA advocate) possibly a bit behind in the search, need search plan.
2 other searches are theoretical, have search plans in ultrafast AMO (chaired by Mette and Tabby is DEIA) gone to dean, theoretical subatomic (Kristina Launey and Scott Marley as DEIA) almost ready to send to the dean.
Late January to early March:
1. COVID
Booster shots! Cool!
2. Statement of Principles published to department website? If so, where?
Want full section for DEAI stuff, statement of principles, feedback form, APS Idea team. Discuss Thurs then tell Jeff.
3. The website situation: (chaired by Jorge Pullin)
Website Committee wants to get stuff going. Want to have it be better for recruitment for sure.
Have restrictions imposed by university and it’s all changing?
LSU might change layout.
Making the changes is done in a non-efficient way rn, having new IT guy will help hopefully.
All-Department Meeting
1. Title IX
a. Not every grad student was at the meeting and not everybody had something show up in our Moodle, you have to go personally enroll, have there been department-wide reminders/links?
c. Before end of the year, Jeff needs to get on that.
2. GCC
a. Not impressed that people knew Juhan wasn’t going to be there and nobody prepared anything.
3. Updates from GSO
a. Mentoring seems to be going well from what we can tell
b. No complaints from TAs
c. Qual and the GCC
i. Trying to get a forum between GCC and graduate students, hopefully with DEIA members there as well. Asking for November 11th at 3:30 PM.
ii. Going to send out survey again but with some more questions relating to subjective rather than objective questions.
iii. January qual is the same (Jeff thinks we keep 50% passing for PhD).
iv. Structure of exam is not gonna change much at this point now.
v. GCC is aware it didn’t go over well.
Faculty questions/updates?
Tutoring
Info session panel for grad students that Catherine asked about. one next wednesday at 3, and another at following tuesday 9th at 1:30, two quick info talks by Rob and Ilya about admissions and the program. Then second half hour of panel discussion. 3:30 pm and 2:00 pm. (3-5 people)
Rob appreciates engagement in REU panels
Rob: Grad students tutoring: International students are NOT allowed to tutor and work outside.
Jeff says there is no grad school guidance or policy on tutoring; in chemistry they do the same thing as we do and used to maintain a list of grad student tutors Employment at university you have to get approval and fill out form but not at university its not regulated
Can use public libraries too!
2. Graduate school strategic plan feedback survey
Does not mention graduate student fees.
Got a faculty working groups to submit recs and reducing fees got marginalized to footnotes. Same with health insurance.
Faculty have pitchforks and torches out and did a survey: got 22 responses (half the faculty).
Strong concerns about how the Grad School Strategic plan will impact research or education in department, and living. Over half think very bad.
They asked for faculty feedback and it feels ignored. Hoping faculty senate can give pushback.
President is going to charge us all with developing a strategic plan and will get guidance on that and weird that the graduate school is jumping out ahead.
3. Socializing???
Discussing having some sort of a thing to be determine probably outside but kinda block partyish probably debated when we do it.
Maybe in the dead period maybe pizza or something.
TL;DR:
Grad school panel participants needed for grad student recruitment, ask us!
Going to have a forum between GCC and grad students + DEIA reps in November
The Graduate School Strategic Plan is garbage and we're trying to push back on it
Comentarios