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 July 2025
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President (1)
The President acts as a graduate student representative at meetings of the faculty, which 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, coordinates the officers and committees of BGSA, assists officers in conducting polls of graduate students, sends a welcoming letter to incoming graduate students, and attends the beginning weeks of graduate orientation seminar. In addition, the President conducts BGSA nominations and elections in the spring. The President may share responsibilities with the Vice President as necessary.
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 (opens in new tab) meetings in the absence of the President and otherwise assists the President with duties.
Secretary/PR (1)
As Secretary, this officer takes minutes during BGSA meetings and posts minutes to the graduate student listserv, BGSA sharepoint, and BGSA website in conjunction with the IT rep. As Public Relations rep, the representative is an active member of the faculty’s Public Relations and Fund Raising Committee and reports to BGSA as needed via the graduate student listserv. The PR side of the faculty committee responsibilities consists of arranging events and presentations to publicize the department, and the grad student representative aids in this task as requested. The committee also collates departmental news events (e.g., papers published, grants and awards received, etc.) and coordinates with Biology IT and the BGSA IT representative to post them on the department web page as news arrives.
Treasurer/Fundraising (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. This officer will take over the Campus USA bank account and PayPal for the duration of their appointment. As Fundraising rep, the representative is an active member of the faculty’s Public Relations and Fund Raising Committee and reports to BGSA as needed via the graduate student listserv. The fundraising side of the faculty committee responsibilities consists of coordinating department fundraising activities, and the grad student representative aids in this task as requested. In addition, the representative also coordinates independent BGSA fundraising efforts such as merchandise design, sales, and distribution. These efforts should be coordinated with the BGSA president to establish fundraising goals to cover URAP funding and other departmental grants funded by BGSA and distributed in the spring semester.
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.
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.
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.
International Student Support (2)
This position is to support international students in their transition to UF life. Two representatives (preferably from different backgrounds) will be the primary contacts for incoming international students. Responsibilities include: maintaining and updating the International Student Welcome Packet (found in the Sharepoint), coordinating with the Graduate Coordinator to email incoming international students ahead of Welcoming Week, coordinating with the Personnel Support and Welcoming committees to host a Welcoming event at the beginning of the fall, and maintaining a living list of housing options to share with incoming students. Additional personnel support responsibilities may include facilitating connections between students of similar backgrounds or home countries and helping new students connect with resources at the International Center to ameliorate personal needs (food, clothing, furniture, etc). The representatives should maintain communication with the Personnel Support committee on issues and concerns pertaining to international students.
Welcoming Committee (3)
This committee should coordinate with the Personnel Support faculty committee and International Student reps during the planning and execution of new student welcoming and orientation. This includes the assembly of welcoming packets, orientation day materials, and welcoming week events. 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.)
Climate Committee (Personnel Support) (1)
The representative will work with the faculty Personnel Support Committee. The purpose of this committee is to administer, respond to, and implement regular surveys of faculty and student perspectives on department functioning, personnel support, and overall workplace happiness. The representative should report to the committee on graduate student welfare and lead committee discussions on this topic.
Mentorship Committee Graduate Representative (Personnel Support) (1)
The Mentoring Committee Representative will be an active member of the faculty Personnel Support Committee, assisting with providing resources and support for mentorship training for faculty and grad students. Responsibilities may include development and distribution of resources related to advisor-advisee or peer-to-peer mentoring. The representative should report to the committee on graduate student concerns related to mentorship and lead committee discussions on this topic.
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.
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.
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.
Departmental Retreat Representative (1)
The representatives help coordinate the retreat alongside the advisory council and the ad hoc faculty Department Retreat Committee. The member is not required to attend advisory council meetings but will interface with the BGSA President and attend other faculty meetings to organize the retreat. (Mostly active in Fall semester.)
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)
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).
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.
Space and Facilities Representative (1)
Representative is an active member of the faculty’s Space and Facilities Committee (opens in new tab), 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.
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.
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.
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 pertaining to personnel support and workplace etiquette. Relevant trainings may be found through the MyTraining portal at: mytraining.hr.ufl.edu.