The number of positions for each officer or committee is indicated in parenthesis. Elections take place in the spring semester. All positions have a one-year term. For current officers, more detailed operations documents can be found on the BGSA Sharepoint.
Last updated May 2021
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President (1)
The President acts as a graduate student representative at faculty Advisory Council meetings held at least once per month. The Advisory Council advises the Chair on departmental matters. The President serves as a liaison between faculty and graduate students and alerts the Vice President about upcoming votes to be held at faculty meetings. The President conducts BGSA meetings once each semester and organizes additional meetings as needed, assists officers in conducting polls of graduate students, coordinates the officers and committees of BGSA, sends a welcoming letter to incoming graduate students, and attends the beginning weeks of graduate orientation seminar.
Vice President (1)
The Vice President acts as a graduate student representative at faculty meetings held at least once per month, polls graduate students before voting on issues during faculty meetings, and reports to BGSA as needed via the graduate student listserv. The Vice President also attends faculty Advisory Council meetings in the absence of the President and otherwise assists the President with duties.
Treasurer/Secretary (1)
As Treasurer, this officer administers and tracks BGSA account activity, presents a summary of funds at BGSA meetings each semester, and assists officers and committee members (fundraising committee) with activities that involve the use of BGSA funds. As Secretary, this officer takes minutes during BGSA meetings and posts minutes to the graduate student listserv and BGSA website in conjunction with the IT rep. In addition, the Treasurer/Secretary conducts BGSA elections in the spring.
Curriculum Representative (1)
Representative is an active member of the faculty’s Curriculum Committee, attends committee meetings held at least once per semester, and reports to BGSA as needed via the graduate student listserv. This committee develops graduate and undergraduate curricula and also advises the Undergraduate Coordinator on undergraduate awards.
Graduate Representative (1)
Representative is an active member of the faculty’s Graduate Committee, attends committee meetings held at least once per semester, and reports to BGSA as needed via the graduate student listserv. This committee assists the Graduate Coordinator in evaluating graduate program guidelines and tracking graduate student activity. The representative also assists the Graduate Admissions Committee in coordinating graduate weekend in the spring for prospective graduate students.
Space and Facilities Representative (1)
Representative is an active member of the faculty’s Space and Facilities Committee, attends committee meetings held at least once per semester, and reports to BGSA as needed via the graduate student listserv. This committee evaluates departmental space and facilities for research, teaching, offices, and meeting rooms. The representative also maintains the Graduate Student Lounge (628 Bartram) by keeping the room stocked with supplies.
Colloquium Representative (1)
Representative is an active member of the faculty’s Colloquium Committee and reports to BGSA as needed via the graduate student listserv. The committee invites, advertises, and hosts the weekly department seminar speakers. The representative also coordinates nomination and voting for the graduate student invited speaker in the spring for the upcoming academic year.
Information Technology Representative (1)
Representative is an active member of the faculty’s IT Committee and reports to BGSA as needed via the graduate student listserv. The committee coordinates departmental IT decisions. The BGSA IT representative interfaces with this committee and with department IT staff upon request and serves as the liaison for students who have IT support needs, such as making posts or edits to the department website. The representative maintains the BGSA website and Sharepoint, posting the minutes from meetings and updating pages upon request from other committees. This representative also helps to set up BGSA meetings for remote participants. Desired skillset: Basic HTML and knowing how to use WordPress.
Graduate Student Council Representative (2)
Representative (or Alternate) attends monthly UF Graduate Student Council meetings and reports to BGSA as needed via the graduate student listserv. Attendance is critical to maintaining our department’s eligibility for GSC travel and research grants.
Public Relations and Fundraising Representative (2)
Representatives are active members of the faculty’s Public Relations and Fund Raising Committee and report to BGSA as needed via the graduate student listserv. The faculty committee coordinates department fundraisers and arranges events and presentations to publicize the department. The committee also collates departmental news events (e.g., papers published, grants and awards received, etc.) and coordinates with the department and BGSA IT representatives to post them on the department web page as news arrives. BGSA representatives will aid the faculty in these tasks as requested, but are most active in helping the committee to put together a department newsletter in early fall and late spring. In addition, the representatives coordinate BGSA fundraising efforts such as merchandise design, sales, and distribution. BGSA representatives are expected to coordinate with the secretary/treasurer and president to establish fundraising goals in order to cover the URAP and/or Olowo departmental grants funded by BGSA and distributed in the spring semester.
Greenhouse Representative (1)
Representative is an active member of the faculty’s Greenhouse Committee and reports to BGSA as needed via the graduate student listserv. The committee coordinates plant materials and space allocated to teaching and research.
Whitney Lab Representative (1)
This position is internally elected by students from the Whitney Lab. They will attend all BGSA meetings (remotely or in person). Additionally, they will be the primary contact for incoming Whitney students to main campus, sending them the Whitney graduate handbook and addressing questions. They will also be responsible for welcoming students to the Whitney lab.
Bartram Carr Woods Representative (1)
The representative coordinates an annual BioBlitz with faculty, generally facilitates other stewardship roles with the woods, and coordinates green initiatives around the department as needed (e.g., composting).
Bylaws Revision Representative (1)
The Bylaws Representative will work with a committee of faculty members to revise the bylaws of our department.
Mentorship Committee Graduate Representative (1)
The Mentoring Committee Representative will be an active member of the ad hoc faculty Mentorship Committee, assisting with providing resources and support for mentorship training for faculty and grad students.
International Student Representative (1)
This position is to support international students. The representative will be the primary contact for incoming international students, coordinating with the Graduate Coordinator to email incoming international students (attach in the email the International Student Welcome Packet), and hosting an event at the beginning of the fall semester to welcome incoming international students. This officer is also responsible for periodically updating the International Student Welcome Packet which is found in the Sharepoint.
Departmental Retreat Representative (1)
The member of this committee helps to coordinate the retreat alongside the advisory council. The member is not required to attend advisory council meetings, but will interface with the President and other faculty meetings to organize the retreat. (Mostly active in Fall semester.)
Code of Conduct Representative (1)
This representative is responsible for organizing the logistics of an annual review of the code of conduct (CoC) and facilitating the process of re-drafting the CoC, if a re-drafting is determined to be needed. Upon re-drafting, this representative will organize a vote on the new draft of the CoC during one of the two annual BGSA meetings. The review, re-drafting, and voting processes shall be conducted in such a way that they are open to all members of BGSA. An individual elected to this role is strongly encouraged to participate in trainings on the following topics: Bias, Diversity and Inclusion. Relevant trainings may be found through the MyTraining portal at: mytraining.hr.ufl.edu.
- Conversations for a Culture of Inclusion (Instructor-led)
- Managing Bias (Online)
- Diversity and Inclusion at UF (Online)
Additional related trainings may be available.
- Send out a survey(s) to assess perspectives on Code of Conduct and, if follow-up is necessary, organize meetings to discuss the Code of Conduct (early fall semester).
- Set up the process of document revision if needed (i.e., sending out Google documents, holding meetings, etc.) (late fall semester).
- Organize the vote on the revised document (schedule for the next BGSA meeting after revisions are complete, discuss this scheduling with the BGSA President and Vice President).
- Verify the correct version of the document is available in the Sharepoint and on the BGSA website.
URAP Committee (3)
Officers coordinate the Undergraduate Research Assistantship Program, which provides several resources for undergraduates interested in research at UF. URAP helps undergraduates find research opportunities including (but not limited to) maintaining a page of ongoing research projects and soliciting faculty, graduate students, post-docs, and scientists for research opportunities in their labs. Members of the URAP committee also provide grants (including review) for undergraduates and will coordinate with the Treasurer/Secretary to coordinate funding for these grants. Finally, URAP organizes an annual symposium exclusively for undergraduates conducting research where students can present their work and participate in a community of researchers at the University of Florida (and distributes awards for Best Poster and Best Talk).
Awards Committee (3)
The members of this committee, in conjunction with the appointed faculty members, will review nomination/applicant packets and select recipients of the annual graduate student teaching, paper, and service awards. The call for award nominations goes out in mid-October and the call for grant applications goes out in mid-November, and awardees are announced at the Prospective Student Banquet in early Spring Semester. (Fall and Spring, mostly during winter)
Welcoming Committee (3)
The Welcoming committee will be in charge of the Welcome Back Fall Party. Members will be in charge of applying for permits, appointing the proper individuals for supplying food, gathering money, organizing music, sending announcements, etc.
Recruitment Committee (3)
The members of this committee will be in charge of the Recruitment Weekend. Members will be organizing (or appointing individuals) and/or leading field trips and the Saturday party. In addition, members will assist the graduate program assistant with organizing the Friday lunch. Members will need to coordinate with the faculty committee responsible for recruitment. (Mostly active in Fall semester.)
Mental Health Committee (2)
The mental health committee hosts the graduate student peer support group meetings. These meetings occur on a bi-weekly to monthly schedule throughout the fall and spring semesters. The committee also serves as a resource for anyone who has questions about mental health resources available to graduate students.
Climate Committee (3)
Representatives will work with the rest of the Department Climate Committee (composed of 3 grad students, 3 faculty and 1 postdoc). The purpose of this committee is to respond to and implement initiatives responding to the two department climate surveys conducted from 2019-2020. The committee will also identify ways of conducting repeated surveys going forward and put that in process.