It is time to participate in the 2021-2022 PPPMB GSA elections
Nominate someone you know
(email Juan at jg967@cornell.edu)
The 2021-2022 PPPMB GSA election is one of the most important democratic processes we will hold in our department this year.
Officers for the GSA coordinate fun social activities, and are in charge of making everyone´s voice heard upon university institutions!
Here you will find the description for each of the roles, a copy of our GSA constitution, and a brief description of this year´s nominees.
Why should you nominate yourself for a role?
Basically, because the GSA is ALL OF US. As students in the same Field, we are all in this together! By working for a common goal you will be able to learn how to lead innititatives that improve the wellbeing of every student. Also, you will have a lot of fun in making sure we have the best social and professional-development activities.
The main objective of our GSA is to facilitate the communication among ourselves and with faculty in our Field. In recent years, our GSA has managed to push for more representation in the Field, and we all need your help in keeping it that way!
You can read a short explaination of the Officer roles in the next section...
President
The President presides over the meetings of the GSA and represents the students when called upon by members of
the Field of Plant Pathology.
Vice-President
The VP of the GSA presides over
meetings of the GSA when the President is unable and serves as acting President in case the President is unable to
fulfill their duties. The Vice-President shall serve as the Plant
Pathology GSA representative to the School of Integrative Plant
Science Graduate Student Council (SIPS GSC) and shall coordinate
communication with other SIPS GSAs when appropriate.
Secretary
The Secretary records the minutes of the meetings, distributes reports, and conducts elections and correspondence
designated by the GCS. The Secretary is acting President in case the
President and Vice-President are unable to fulfill the duty. The
Secretary is responsible for activities associated with solicitation,
review, and selection of awardees of the Outstanding Service Award,
Treasurer
The Treasurer records all financial transactions,
coordinates all funding and fundraising activities of the GSA and
assists the President in preparing and defending the GSA budget
before the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Finance
Commission. The Treasurer must submit a ledger upon request of
the President or the EC.
GPSA representative
The Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GPSA) representative attends all GPSA meetings
and reports concerns, suggestion and questions of the GSA at these
meetings, and keeps the GSA informed of the GPSA activities.
Read a description of the current committees below...
PPPMB GSA Meeting Time: May 26, 2021 12:25 PM
What is a committee?
Committees are the main workforce of our GSA. Every year during the GSA meeting students organize into groups with a goal in mind to develop during that academic year. There are six permanent committees, and each year temporary ones are created depending on the needs.
All committees must have members who represent both the Ithaca and
Geneva Departments of Plant Pathology, with the exception of the
Social Committee, which may consist of entirely Ithaca-based
students.
Colloquium Committee
Coordinates the annual GSA sponsored Colloquium speakers. As such, it is in charge of polling the graduate students in our Field for candidates and running the polls to select the speaker.
New Student Committee
The outgoing New Student Committee
assigns current graduate students as mentors to incoming new
students, updates the New Student Handbook and sends the
handbook out to incoming new students by June 1st of each year.
Prospective Student Committee
This Committee
meets with Adam Bogdanove, the Director of Graduate Studies, to organize an
orientation and program for visiting prospective students.
Social Committee
Organizes social
activities each semester for the GSA.
Fundraising Committee
Coordinates at least one event or sale per year to benefit the GSA.
The Treasurer is the default chair of this committee, but may chooseto yield the chair to a member of the GSA approved by the GSA.
Sustainability Committee
It liaisons with the Horticulture Sustainability Committee, and any
other sustainability-focused group decided on by the members of the
GSA’s Sustainability Committee, to develop and maintain
educational materials and programs to decrease waste and energy use
from campus activities.
Chili CookOff Committee
It coordinates the annual SIPS Chili CookOff. Often leaded by Plant path students but often recruits from other Fields join the committee.