Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Meeting

Monday, December 8, 2025

• Term:
  2025-2026
• Assembly/Committee: Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
• Date & Time:
  Mon, Dec 8, 2025 - 5:00pm
  to
  6:30pm
• Location:
  401 Physical Sciences Building/Zoom
• Agenda:

  I. Call to Order
  
  II. Roll Call

  III. Approval of the meeting minutes
       a. November 10, 2025
       b. November 24, 2025
  
  IV. Reports of Officers and Committee Updates
       a. Executive Committee
       b. Operations and Staffing Committee
       c. Appropriations Committee
       d. Communications Committee
       e. Finance Commission
       f. Student Advocacy Committee (SAC)
       g. Programming Board
       h. Diversity & International Students Committee (DISC)
       i. Faculty Advising, Teaching, and Mentorship Award Committee (FATMAC)
       j. Special Grants Committee
      k. Graduate School
  
  V. Presentation
       a. Office of Global Learning (OGL), International Services
            i. Margaret M. Gallo, Programming & Outreach, Office Administrator

  VI. Updates
      a. Acknowledgements
          i. Nick Brennan, President
  
  VII. New Business
  
  VIII. Open Forum
  
  IX. Adjournment
   

  GPSA Agenda December 8 2025.pdf (50.29 KB)
• Meeting Packet:
• Audio Recording:
• Minutes:

  I. Call to Order
       a. N. Brennan called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
            i. Members Present: V. Baruah, A. Basquiat, N. Brennan, A. Cardenas, P. Caruso, C. Chappel, J. Chobirko, A. Coogan, I. Di Tomassi, D. Freeman, E.R. Gallant, A. Garcia-Ortiz, I. Gatimi, A. George, Y. Khaled, A. Koyyada, Z. Liu, Z. Lynch, C. Meffert, T. Nguyen, S. Sepp, I. Smith, Y. Wu
            ii. Members Absent: J. Alzayer, B. Candelaria, M. Hassler, M. James, C. King, M. Ortiz, S. Raimondi, K. Rohrbaugh
            iii. Also Present: T.A. Lewis, J. Withers

  
  II. Approval of the meeting minutes
       a. November 10th, 2025
            i. Z. Lynch motioned to adopt the minutes. The motion passed by unanimous consent
       b. November 24th, 2025
            i. Z. Lynch motioned to adopt the minutes. The motion passed by unanimous consent

  
  III. Reports of Officers and Committee Updates
       a. Executive Committee
            i. A. Cardenas shared that because Cornell will host the 2027 Ivy+ Conference, GPSA is recruiting students interested in project management and creative roles to help organize the event. She also shared that she is seeking a sponsor for a piece of legislation
       b. Operations and Staffing
            i. Z. Lynch shared that he is also assisting in Ivy+ Conference planning. Z. Lynch also shared that he reached out to the Law and Business schools to fill vacant GPSA seats; the Johnson School did not reply right away but the Law School agreed to send representatives beginning in January. Vet School terms ongoing
       c. Appropriations
            i. None
       d. Communications
            i. None
       e. Finance
            i. A. Koyyada announced that he, S. Sepp, and others in Finance are working on rewriting next year’s GPSAFC funding guidelines to better define scope for field groups, to increase enforcement for membership and attendance, and to update language on club activities with union presence. A. Koyyada asked interested members to reach out
       f. Student Advocacy
            i. I. Gatimi announced upcoming town halls and a veteran focused resolution, encouraging interested members to chime in
       g. Programming
            i. P. Caruso announced the Gala theme: Masquerade. Flyers and advertising will come out soon
       h. Diversity and International Students
            i. A. George shared details on the last meeting of the semester. She also shared that DISC would consolidate graduate student feedback into an Excel sheet for later use
       i. Faculty Advising, Teaching, and Mentorship Award
            i. J. Chobirko asked again that people complete and share the nominations form
       j. Special Grants
            i. J. Chobirko shared that Special Grants continues to review its 58 applications and will convene as a review panel next week. More updates to come in the Spring
       k. Graduate School
            i. T.A. Lewis shared end-of-semester well-wishes with everyone before announcing that admissions remain a top priority for the Graduate School administration

  
  IV. Presentations
       a. Office of Global Learning (OGL), International Services. Presentation by Brandon Lanners, Executive Director; Laura Taylor, Director of International Services; Margaret M. Gallo, Programming and Outreach and Office Administrator
            i. The presenters described the OGL at a high level, noting that it sits under the Vice Provost for International Affairs and that its staff of 25 serves tens of thousands of students annually. The presenters covered the OGL’s work, including compliance responsibilities for students, organizing outreach events like orientation, Thanksgiving, partnerships with student organizations, break programming, etc. They also covered emergency funding issues for international students
            ii. The presenters fielded questions from members on details on emergency funding criteria and scope, as well as on OGL staffing and administration. OGL’s system assigns students tickets and prioritizes cases based on students’ replies to automated guidance. In response to questions on increasing AI chatbot use to increase efficiency, the presenters reported interest but caution due to legal risks associated with immigration guidance. GPSA members also asked about what kinds of student information might be shared with the federal government

  
  V. Updates - Acknowledgements by Nicholas Brennan, GPSA President
       a. N. Brennan reflected on the semester of GPSA, sharing that the body passed six resolutions (to set an internal budget, fund Anabel’s Grocery, support the Library, recommend Student Code of Conduct changes, and lower the Student Activity Fee), and hosted eleven presenters over eight meetings. He also shared goals for the semester ahead, including a formal recommendation from the Special Grants Committee, creating a new special committee to plan the upcoming Ivy+ Conference, upcoming Student Advocacy town halls, and funding guidelines revision from the Finance Commission. N. Brennan thanked the body before individually acknowledging outgoing GPSA Clerk Anthony Wang and outgoing DISC Chair Aleesha George

  
  VI. New Business
       a. None

  
  VII. Open Forum
       a. J. Chobirko thanked the GPSA and wished everyone safe travels

  
  The meeting was adjourned at 6:05 p.m.

  GPSA-Minutes-120825.pdf (215.19 KB)