What We Do
Overview
The GPSA Assembly represents graduate and professional students from colleges and schools across all ASU campuses and online students.
The primary function of the GPSA Assembly is to pass bills that advocate for graduate and professional student interests and values, approve budgets that promote academic and professional success, and distribute funds to support graduate student organizations (GSOs). Assembly members serve as the primary liaison among their constituents, GPSA executives, and the ASU Administration.
Members of the GPSA Assembly also serve on committees that focus on particular graduate and professional student concerns, including advocacy to university administration and government representatives, diversity and inclusion, student grants and awards, professional development resources and opportunities, and funding for GSOs.
GSO Funding
A key function of GPSA is to fund events for Graduate Student Organizations (GSOs) to foster community and facilitate professional development among graduate and professional students. GSO events add to GPSA’s robust graduate experience. Graduate and Professional students are welcome to join any and all GSO’s at ASU. Additionally, any graduate student can start a GSO. GSO’s are great ways to connect with other students, explore academic interests and non-academic interests. GSO’s can add to your graduate experience. For more information on starting a GSO, please review the GSO Best Practices Guideline on the GPSA Graduate Student Organization (GSO) website on Sun Devil Sync.
To be eligible for GPSA GSO funding, all GSO’s must be registered on Sun Devil Sync.learn more about GSO Funding requirements, funding application deadlines visit the GPSA Graduate Student Organization on Sun Devil Sync: https://asu.campuslabs.com
Committees
Committees unite Assembly Members, GPSA Executives and Directors and graduate students to plan events, oversee GPSA operations, administer funds for GSOs, grants and awards and advocate for student concerns.
The Assembly and Executive Branch relies on opinions and recommendations from each committee in its area of expertise. Committee work includes writing and receiving Assembly bills and resolutions, preparing policy papers and recommendation reports, event planning and making budgeting decisions.
Get involved!
Committees are open for interested graduate students to join. Email the chair of the committee to learn more.
Current Assembly Committees
Supports the Office of the Assembly President to conduct the Assembly’s business. The committee reviews and maintains Assembly attendance policies, administers Assembly Member Scholarships, organizes Assembly Member orientations, and nominates new member candidates to the Assembly to fill vacant seats.
Chair: Farah Najar Arevalo, gpsaassembly@gmail.com
Addresses issues and concerns specific to under-represented groups within the graduate student body. Members liaise between students and the administration on issues of equal opportunity and representation, and recommend initiatives and policy changes to the Assembly to improve the climate of diversity and inclusion within GPSA and the student body.
Chair: Austin Blackmon, avblackm@asu.edu
Supports the Office of the Assembly President to conduct the Assembly’s business, including: managing changes to the GPSA Bylaws, Constitution, and related policy and procedural materials. Members review and update the content of these documents for the Assembly and propose recommendations for policy changes and amendments.
Chair: Sean McAllister Assembly Secretary & Parliamentarian, Sean.McAllister@asu.edu
Maintains and interprets the GSO funding policy. Members review GSO funding applications (around $70,000 awarded per year), prepare GSO funding bills for Assembly vote, and develop programming to assist ASU’s GSO community.
Chair: Zee Wilson, zeewilson@asu.edu
Supports the Office of the Vice President of Internal Affairs in administration of GPSA Travel Grant Programs and Awards Programs.
Chair: Megan McCaughan, megan.mccaughan@asu.edu
Supports the Office of the Vice President of External Affairs responsible for GPSA’s advocacy initiatives, including lobbying at the national, state, and university level. This committee drafts the language of the annual GPSA Advocacy Agenda that is ultimately approved by the Assembly.
Chair: Jamal Brooks-Hawkins, jrbrook7@asu.edu
Supports the Office of the Vice President of Professional Development in administration of Awards Programs, as well promoting and executing numerous events throughout the year.
Chair: Suli Adeniye, sadeniye@asu.edu
Identifies and addresses issues concerning ASU’s large international student community. Members are tasked with guiding and advising the Assembly regarding the interests and concerns of international students in GPSA’s programing, policies, advocacy, and business.
Chair: Pooja Chitre, pnchitre@asu.edu
Acts as a liaison between Administration in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) Dean’s Office and the graduate students of the College of Liberals Arts and Sciences.
Chair: Danny Jackson, dnjacks4@asu.edu
Acts as a liaison between Administration in The Fulton Schools of Engineering Dean’s Office and the graduate students of the Fulton Schools of Engineering.
Chair: Runcong Kuang, rkuang1@asu.edu
Supports the GPSA Director of Innovation Fellowship. The committee helps in the advertisement, review, and selection of special projects for funding to support graduate student initiatives.
Chair: Kennethrex Ndukaife, kndukaif@asu.edu
Acts as a liaison between Administration at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus and the graduate and professional students of the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus.
Chair: Samantha Fessler, sfessler@asu.edu
Supports the GPSA Director of Wellness in their Wellness agenda, projects, and events.
Chair: Alexis Faison, anducket@asu.edu
Supports the operations of the Director of Sustainability. Promotes Sustainability throughout graduate student spaces and ASU. The committee plans and facilitates sustainability events, collaboration amongst sustainability groups within ASU/GPSA, and perpetuates sustainable action/change where there is a need. The committee reviews and improves upon sustainability internally within GPSA and externally in its influence across ASU.
Chair: Richard Hauck, rehauck1@asu.edu
Assembly Committee Work
Committee work is where the Assembly truly takes shape. Assembly members become “experts” on the topic(s) by which their committee is charged. The Assembly and Executive Branch relies on opinions and recommendations from each committee in its area of expertise.
Committee work that can be expected:
- writing of Assembly bills
- review of Assembly bills
- recommendations on existing Assembly bills
- preparation of policy papers
- preparation of recommendation papers
- event planning
- budget considerations
Committees should prepare the following documents:
- A brief one-page summary of the scope and goals of the committee
- A timeline of tasks to be completed
- Minutes of every meeting (should be maintained by the chair, and be available upon request)
- Monthly reports of committee progress (Should be submitted to the President of the Assembly prior to the Assembly meeting to be included in Assembly packets. Each committee will give an oral report of committee progress at each Assembly meeting)
Every committee should provide a one page summary, timeline of tasks, and monthly (or as many as is needed) reports to the Assembly President. Depending upon the scope of the committee, your committee may also be asked to send reports to the Vice Presidents and President of GPSA.
The Role of Committee Chairs
The goal for the Committee Chair is to provide the Committee with the structure it needs to complete the tasks, including:
- Scheduling meeting time, location, and reservations
- providing the necessary tools and documents for committee tasks
- developing an agenda for each meeting
- facilitating communication between members of committee
- facilitating communication between committee and other people
The Chair should appropriately schedule tasks to be timely and also take into consideration the time limitations of the various members of that committee.
To this end, the Chair is ultimately responsible for making sure that documents and events produced by the committee are professional and representative of GPSA, as these are ultimately public documents for the entire university.
*GPSA Bylaws call for certain committee chair and member positions to be afforded to the Assembly President, the Assembly President pro tempore, the Vice Presidents, and some directors.