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Cornell University

Office of the Assemblies

Graduate and Professional Community Initiative

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The Graduate and Professional Community Initiative (GPCI) is a vision and a plan presented to our University by the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GPSA) to address critical issues in graduate and professional student life at Cornell University. 

The GPCI acknowledges the interconnected nature of the unique challenges graduate and professional students face at Cornell and the GPCI attempts to provide an integrated and proactive vision. The GPCI enables Cornell to direct, support, and protect efforts and projects that facilitate a cohesive graduate and professional student community. As a living document to be updated by future members of the graduate and professional student community, the GPCI will be able to respond to successes and additional challenges.

 

Select a GPCI Initiative

Diversity & Inclusion (PDF) Students with Families (PDF) G&P Student Center (PDF) Housing (PDF) International Students (PDF) Sense of Community (PDF) Transportation (PDF) Mental Health & Well-Being (PDF)

GPCI History

In March 2007, the GPSA presented the Vision Statement for a Graduate Community Initiative (PDF) to the Board of Trustees. In response, a working group, the GCI Task Force, was assembled from a broad group of stakeholders across the university to engage with the graduate and professional student community. This group was chaired by the Vice President of Cornell University, Susan Murphy, and the then Dean of the Graduate School, Sunny Power. 
 
A series of other activities led to the development of the Graduate and Professional Community Initiative 2013: A Strategic Plan for the Graduate and Professional Student Community (PDF) In its present form, GPCI ad-hoc committee is a tasked with conducting a needs assessment to develop a strategic planning document for the Graduate and Professional community every five years. 
 
The GPSA issued a GPCI Progress Report in the Spring of 2018. The current GPCI ad-hoc committee convened in September 2018.
 
GPSA Resolution 8: A Resolution to Adopt the Graduate and Professional Community Initiative was introduced to the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly on Monday, March 2, 2020 and adopted on Monday, May 4, 2020. It was accepted by President Pollack on September 24, 2020. The Graduate and Professional Community Initiative 2020: A Strategic Plan for the Graduate and Professional Student Community (PDF) was released in December 2020.