Graduate College Council

About Us

The Graduate College Council acts as the primary deliberative and representative body of the Graduate College. It consists of faculty members who are nominated and elected as the representatives of graduate programs within the academic colleges as well as one graduate student from each college.

The purpose of Council meetings is to:

discuss issues relevant to all aspects of graduate education
develop and propose university-wide policies that support and improve common aspects of graduate programs for submission to the Faculty Senate
approve proposed interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary graduate programs for submission to the University Faculty Senate Graduate Studies Committee

These meetings are open to all faculty with secondary appointments in the Graduate College. The Graduate College bylaws below outline the exact structure and function of the Graduate Council.

Graduate College Bylaws >

The Executive Committee is made up of one representative from each academic college and one voting graduate student representative. Executive Committee members are elected yearly from the elected faculty members of the Council and one of the three voting graduate students. The Committee members shall elect a Secretary from the Committee membership who shall serve both the Executive Committee and the Council.

Executive Committee members are elected annually by the Council members by June 1 in the spring semester to begin a one-year term starting on September 1 of the following academic year. The Executive Committee chair is elected by the Council and presides over the Executive Committee and Council meetings.

The Secretary shall keep a record of official actions of the Committee and the Council and post minutes on the College website. The Dean or their designee may attend Executive Committee meetings but will only vote in the case of a tie.

The Executive Committee has the following authorities and responsibilities:

to establish the agenda for Council meetings;
to refer appropriate matters to a standing or ad hoc committee of the College;
to call special meetings of the Council;
to make recommendations to the Council for action on any matter related to the College;
to investigate any condition that could affect the College’s academic freedom or that of any of its members. The committee shall report its findings to the College Council and faculty;
to discharge any other responsibility or authority that the Council assigns to the Executive Committee.

Executive Committee Members

Jeff Buler - CANR

Michael Fields - CAS

Jessica Sowa - Biden School

Lindsay Naylor - CEOE

Teomara Rutherford - CEHD

John Slater – COE

Ho Ming Chow - CHS

Siyan Wang - Lerner College

Max Bobbin – Graduate Student Representative

This committee is composed of one faculty member from each of the other colleges, who serve renewable two-year terms, one graduate student, and one representative chosen by the Dean. This committee reviews and evaluates:

graduate courses and curricula that originate within the Graduate College (e.g., Multi-College interdisciplinary programs);
new or provisional University-wide academic policies and degree requirements;
changes in the structure of academic programs that originate within the College;
developments in graduate teaching and curricula that may affect the
University; and
other matters related to graduate educational affairs.

Committee Resources

Interdisciplinary Curriculum Committee Members

Jeff Buler–CANR

TBD–CAS

Laura Desimone–CEHD (and Biden School), Chair

Clara Chan–CEOE

Jennifer Horney–CHS

Bramie Lenhoff–COE

Siyan Wang–LCBE

Mike Michaud (Biden)–GSG

Mary Martin–Graduate College

This committee consists of three faculty members, one of whom shall be chair, three graduate students chosen by the Graduate Student Government, one representative chosen by the Dean, and the Vice President (or designee) for Student Life. The Chair is selected and approved by a vote of the Committee at the beginning of each term. Committee members serve two year renewable terms, which should be staggered insofar as possible.

This committee makes recommendations bearing upon the care and support of graduate, professional, and post-doctoral students. It advises the College Dean on the implementation of rules and regulations enacted by the Graduate Council or the Faculty Senate. The committee advises on matters such as graduate student financial aid, graduate student housing, graduate student counseling and placement, and graduate student health and mental health. It may meet with the directors of administrative units responsible for these matters at the request of the directors or at the discretion of the chairperson of the committee. Recommendations, which may be in the form of resolutions, may be routed from this committee either through the Council or directly to the Faculty Senate Committee on Student Life for consideration for approval.

Student Life Committee Members

LaRuth McAfee - Graduate College

Faculty:

Amy Griffin - CAS

TBD-COE

Rae Chresfield - Student Wellbeing

Graduate Student Representatives:

Eric Sterin

Ollie Carter

Masooma Sarfraz

More Information to be Announced this Fall.

Executive Committee

Interdisciplinary Curriculum Committee

Student Life Committee

Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Council Members

Jeff Buler*	CANR / ENWC
Deb Jaisi	CANR / PLSC
Adil Bentahar* (sabbatical fall 2024)	CAS / ELI/AA
Andrew Teplyakov	CAS / Chem/Biochem
Ben Stanley (fall rep, spring alt)	CAS / English
Cristina Guardiola-Griffiths	CAS / Languages Literatures & Cultures
Erica Selva	CAS / Biological Sciences
Federica Bianco	CAS / Physics & Astronomy
Ikem Okoye	CAS / Art History
Jingmei Qiu	CAS / Mathematics
Mieke Eeckhaut	CAS / Anthropology, Fashion & Apparel Studies, Sociology, Criminal Justice
Paul Brewer	CAS / Communication
Peter Mende-Siedlecki	CAS / Psychological & Brain Sciences
Philip Gentry	CAS / Art, Design, Music, Theatre
Rebecca Davis	CAS / History
Teomara Rutherford*	CEHD / Education
Tia Barnes	CEHD / Human Development & Family Science
Jeremy Firestone	CEOE / Marine Science and Policy
Lindsay Naylor*	CEOE / Geography & Spatial Sciences
Ho Ming Chow*	CHS / CSCD
Kimberly Walker	CHS / MMS
Melissa Witman	CHS / KAAP
Sharon Dudley-Brown	CHS / NURS
Dawn Elliott	COE / BME
Dennis Prather	COE / Electrical and Computer Engineering
Joe Feser	COE / ME
John Slater*	COE / Biomedical Engineering
Mar	COE / CBE
Mark Nejad	COE / Civil and Environmental Engineering
Rui Zhang	COE / Computer and Information Sciences
X. Lucas Lu	COE / ME
Hamed Mahmudi	LCBE / Finance
Jeremy Tobacman*	LCBE / Economics
Kurt Norder	LCBE / Business Administration
Michael Jung	LCBE / Accounting & MIS
Tim Webb	LCBE / Hospitality, Sport & Business Management
Jessica Sowa*	Biden School of Public Policy and Administration
Kalim Shah	Biden School of Public Policy and Administration
Lou Rossi	Ex-officio / Graduate College
Miguel Garcia-Diaz	Ex-officio / Research

GSG Representatives

Meredith Lewis	CANR
Alan Parkes	CAS
Matthew Van	Biden School of Public Administration
Romain Richaud	CEOE
Guba	CEHD
Stergios Bachoumas	COE
Kristin Kelly	CHS
Tejas Kshemkalyani	LCBE
Max Bobbin	Executive Council

Council Minutes '24-25

Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Feb
March
April
May

Council Minutes '23-24

Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Feb
March
April
May

Council Minutes '22-23

Council Minutes '21-22

Council Minutes '20-21

Council Minutes '19-'20

Council Meetings

The Council meets at least monthly during the regular fall and spring semesters. More frequent meetings can be called by a majority vote of the Graduate College Executive Committee or by petition of at least twenty percent of the Council members. Council meetings are open to all members of the College Faculty and invited guests.

The purposes of Council meetings are to:

discuss issues relevant to all aspects of graduate education,
develop and propose university-wide policies, which support and improve common aspects of graduate programs, for submission to the Faculty Senate, and
approve proposed interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary graduate programs for submission to the University Faculty Senate Graduate Studies Committee.

Graduate College