CUNY Graduate Center
Doctoral Students’ Council
Steering Committee Minutes -- [DRAFT]

April 3, 2009

Present: Jill Belli (JB); Gregory Donovan (GD); Rob Faunce (RF); Ally Foster (AF); Anton Masterovoy (AM); Christine Pinnock (CP); Chris Alen Sula (CS); Suzanne Tamang (ST); Denise Torres (DT); Tasha Youstin (TY)

Chair: RF
Minutes: AF

Meeting Called to order at 6:10pm

I. Approval of Agenda
RF asked for any additions to the agenda. There were none. AM motioned to approve the agenda; DT seconded; passed by unanimous consent.

II. Approval of Old Minutes
RF asked for any corrections to the draft minutes of the March 6, 2009 Steering Committee meeting. There were none. GD motioned to approve the old minutes; AM seconded; passed by unanimous consent.

III. Old Business
a. Financial Aid
CS noted that, currently, some fellowships are paid out in a lump sum at the beginning of the year. However, as of Fall 2009, they will be disbursed on a 12-month bi-weekly basis. Concerns have been raised about this, particularly in regards to out-of-state students who move to NYC and need money for moving expenses, first and last month’s rent, damage deposit, etc. TY added that this is tied into the issue of the GC taking a very long time to disperse student loan monies. All agreed that these are issues that must be addressed. GC said that they should be brought up at the next Student Affairs meeting, and also at the next Plenary.

IV. New Business
a. DSC Elections
RF announced that the online election ballots just went live, and will run until April 30th.
JB asked if it was possible to extend the voting period as a good part of April is taken up by spring break. GD said that the DSC constitution mandates that the election run during April.
AM offered to make elections posters; the posters will also include a blurb reminding people
of the write-in option. RF noted that the separate ballot option being employed this year will
yield immediate election results and allow us to contact candidates more quickly.

V. Student Affairs Report
a. Chartered Organizations
GD reported that 3 of the 4 groups offered rooms are moving in. All of the new PCs will be installed by the end of spring break, and the Macs will be installed by the end of semester. There will be one PC and one Mac in each room. GD also noted that the de-chartering process had begun for four groups and that they would be officially de-chartered if they didn’t respond by the next Plenary. The info on these organizations is on our website and in this month’s Advocate.

b. OpenCUNY
GD reported that OpenCUNY.org is up and running, and he will start promoting it soon. JB asked how to add users to a blog, and GD said he will write up instructions. ST noted that she had some difficulty signing up for an account, and GD said he would set up a clearer link and also work on an FAQ.

VI. Communications Report
RF announced that the Student Travel and Research Fund has run out. The deadline for submissions is April 10 and it is already 25% over budget. The DSC will contribute more monies, but no more than what the Administration will contribute. RF also reported that the search for the Wellness Center Director has begun. The Director will oversee both Student Health Services (SHS) and Psychological Counseling and Adult Development (PCAD).

VII. Business Report

CS reported that the 56K allocated to Wellness Center last year for EHR (electronic health records) system was returned to general account after being unused. Health Issues was asked to explore possible systems.

ST spoke about the DOHMH Primary Care Information Project, which provides a software license for the New York City build of the award-winning eClinicalWorks EHR system (including
practice management system, eRx, prevention-oriented decision support tools, and patient portal) for each primary care provider and a 2-yr maintenance contract. Further info can be found at http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/pcip/pcip-ehr-app.shtml

ST reported that she submitted an initial inquiry to see if the GC would qualify, and was told that we are definitely eligible to apply. She will send the application forms and the contact info to CS, who plans to send it to the Wellness Center/Mr. Schoengood's office.

a. Program Allocations

CS presented projections of possible allocation mechanism based on historical enrollments and claims. CS motioned that SC recommend the greater of $200 per program or $5 per student per semester to Plenary in Bylaw #8. JB seconded; passed by unanimous consent.

b. Budget

CS presented budget discussed at last SC meeting with updated figures for program allocations, USS representative stipend, and assets. GD motioned to provisionally approve budget, pending passage of proposed changes to Bylaws #8 and #15 and surplus funds proposal by Plenary; ST seconded; passed by unanimous consent.

c. Surplus funds
CS presented some ideas about the ways in which the surplus funds might be used, such as setting up a DSC-sponsored Dissertation Fellowship. Concerns were raised that this might give the impression that the DSC members were privileging themselves. RF noted that the Provost’s Office would oversee the distribution of the award and GD suggested that, rather than making the fellowship service-related, it could focus on interdisciplinary study. DT noted that it is the case that some individuals receive multiple fellowships and grants, so suggested that the DSC fellowships go to those who are not receiving funding from other sources.

In the course of discussion it was suggested that, rather than one large award, the surplus monies could be used to fund several smaller awards, as this would allow more students to benefit. RF suggested that we could issue four awards of $5000.00 each over five years. Three of the awards could be distributed according to discipline (Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences), and the fourth could reflect service to the GC. GD noted that small awards can create a lot of overhead and become hard to distribute. RF noted that piggybacking on the Provost’s fellowship system allocation system would be more cost-effective and efficient. TY noted that students who try to move through the degree at an accelerated pace sometimes have trouble getting fellowships and grants, so perhaps we could take this into account when defining the selection criteria. The committee agreed to continue discussion at the next meeting.

DT made a motion that the Steering Committee will recommend to plenary the budget numbers as listed, which include provisional funds being put aside for the Wellness Center electronic health record system, and the members of the Steering Committee will consult again before the next plenary. AM seconded; passed by unanimous consent.

d. Travel & Research

CS recommended that the Steering Committee allocate $2500.00 from discretionary funds to the Student Travel and Research Fund. RF motioned to approve; passed by unanimous consent.

VIII. USS Report
AF reported that she had nothing to report.

IX. Committee Reports
AM asked if anyone wanted to join the Library Committee.

JB reported that the Health Issues blog (opencuny.org/health) is up and will have content soon. At the last meeting the committee discussed the electronic health record system for the Wellness Center, and recommended a budget for the 2009-10 year. The GC Wellness Fair will take place on May 6, and the committee will meet before then to discuss its involvement.

CS motioned that the Steering Committee commit $1000.00 to the GC Wellness Fair; everyone seconded; passed by unanimous consent.

X. Announcements
There were no announcements.

XI. Adjournment
AM motioned to adjourn the meeting; JB seconded; passed by unanimous consent.

Meeting adjourned at 7:37pm.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Allyson Foster