[Gsc-anno] GSC Annoucements (10/12/04)

[Lucy Wong]

*********************  GSC ANNOUNCEMENTS  *********************
  more extensive annoucements online: http://gsc.mit.edu/anno
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headlines (details below):

           1. Student Advisory Board to MIT's 16th President
                CALL FOR MEMBERSHIP

           2. Faculty Focus Groups on Graduate Advising
                Student participation needed

           3. Student Life Grants
                Applications due 10/13/04

           4. This week's GSC meetings
              (in GSC Office, 50-220, unless otherwise noted)
                Tue 12th, 5:30 - Housing & Community Affairs
                Tue 12th, 12-1 - Advising sub-committee meeting


details:
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*STUDENT ADVISORY BOARD TO MIT'S 16th PRESIDENT*
*CALL FOR MEMBERSHIP*

The Student Advisory Group to the Corporation Committee on the Presidency
played a crucial role in providing student input (for the first time in
MIT's history) into the process leading to the selection of Dr. Susan
Hockfield as MIT's 16th President. Now, based partly on the overwhelming
success of that group, students are being given another equally
significant opportunity to shape MIT's future through the Student Advisory
Board to MIT's 16th President.

The MIT Graduate Student Council will be selecting a number of students to
be on this board, whose main purpose will be to provide President-Elect
Dr. Susan Hockfield with a diverse perspective on MIT culture and
community, challenges and opportunities facing MIT, and qualities and
priorities of MIT students. The Presidential Student Advisory Board will
consist of members of both the graduate and undergrad student body, and
will be jointly chaired by the GSC and UA Presidents.

If you are interested in developing a vision for the future of the MIT
student experience, we highly encourage you to apply. The application, and
more information, can be found at http://gsc.mit.edu/MITpresident and is
due by  *Wednesday, October 20th at 5 p.m.*  in the Graduate Student
Council office, Room 220 in Walker Memorial (50-220).   Note that this
deadline has been extended by one week to allow more time for applications.

Please email *sab-chairs at mit.edu* if you have any questions.


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*FOCUS GROUPS TO IMPROVE ADVISOR-ADVISEE RELATIONSHIPS*
*STUDENT PARTICIPATION NEEDED*

To help solve problems relating to advisor-advisee relationships, the GSC
is helping organize focus groups involve faculty, graduate administrators
and grad students to brainstorm together about strategies to improve
graduate advising at MIT.

These focus groups will be held around the second week of November. The
GSC hopes to recruit ~15 faculty, 15 graduate administrators and 30
graduate students during October. The focus groups will meet twice in
November to come up with strategies to improve advisor-advisee
relationships, by addressing key problem areas. The results of these
discussions will be made available to the entire MIT community and will
also be presented to the departments by the GSC representatives.

How can graduate students participate?
         This initiative relies greatly on wholesome participation of
 graduate students. The following are key areas where graduate students
 could participate
         1. Participants in focus groups. One graduate student per
 department is needed.
         2. Facilitator/Scribe: About 15 student volunteers are needed to
 help coordinate the focus group discussions. There will be a brief
 training for all facilitators and scribes.
         3. Organizing committee: Join the GSC sub-committee on Better
 Advising and Research Ethics and help organize these focus groups and
 related initiatives. (About 5 students needed)

Time commitment is minimal. Grad students will benefit greatly from
understanding the nuances of mentoring and advising, through these focus
groups.

Contact: For questions/comments, please email *gsc-arc at mit.edu*


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*STUDENT LIFE GRANT*
*APPLICATION DUE ON 10/13/04*

Using funds from the Student Life Fee, the Graduate Students' Office
provides grants for initiatives that help build community at the graduate
level throughout the Institute.  The types of applications that have been
accepted for funding have been quite varied.  You can find out more about
the grants by visiting http://web.mit.edu/gso/community/grants.html

The deadline for the current round of grants is *TOMORROW, October 13th*.
If you are planning something that you think might be suitable for a
grant, and can get a proposal together in time (see the website for
guidelines for the proposal), we urge you to do so.  Otherwise, please
keep in mind that this is a recurring source of funding so you may want to
keep it in mind for the future.