Standing Committees

Standing Committees are permanent committees necessary to run essential aspects of GSG. These committees are as follows:

FINANCE COMMITTEE

The Finance Committee reviews all funding applications that are submitted to GSG. Committee members ensure that applications are compliant with GSG funding policies and evaluate the appropriateness of the request in terms of its impact on graduate students. The committee provides feedback to the Directors of Finance on finance policies and procedures and assists the Directors of Finance, the VP of Administration, and the President with preparing and/or organizing the GSG budget for the following academic year, as needed. Meetings are every Monday at 4:00PM.

Led by: Shirlene Wang, Director of Finance – Approvals – gsgupcfi@usc.edu & Julia Stal, HSC Director of Finance – gsghscfi@usc.edu

Goals for the 2022-2023 Academic Year

  • Review Funding Applications weekly.
  • Audit events that are funded at the discretion of the Finance Directors and/or committee.
  • Meet once a month at the HSC campus with all other meetings on Zoom. 

Expected Commitment for Volunteers

~8-10 hours per semester. Must attend meetings and audited events throughout the academic year. Senators are expected to be a part of the finance committee for the entire academic year.

HEALTH SCIENCES CAMPUS RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

The Health Sciences Campus Research & Development Committee serves student interests on the Health Sciences Campus and acts in an advisory capacity for GSG on all related matters. They also assist with HSC-wide social and volunteer events and develop programming to promote and celebrate diversity on this campus. At least one HSC senator from a HSC student organization must be present; the senator may designate a proxy to attend in their place; Assists the HSC Directors in planning, publicizing, and running events.

Led by: Elisa Stephens, Senior Vice President – gsgsvp@usc.edu

Goals for the 2022-2023 Academic Year

  • Develop strategies to bring equitable university resources to the Health Sciences Campus, such as Campus Activities office, and resource centers.
  • Relay HSC-specific concerns from constituents at monthly meetings. 
  • Assist with event planning and advertising.

Expected Commitment for Volunteers

Must attend monthly one-hour meetings and volunteer for at least one HSC event (e.g., event set-up/clean-up). Members must also help disseminate GSG information through student channels.

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 

The Academic Affairs Committee will review proposed abstracts for the GSG Graduate Research Symposium and organize the logistics of the annual Graduate Research Symposium such as finding judges, gathering applications and abstracts, and finding volunteers for the day of the event. The Committee will also assist the Director of Academic Affairs in gathering student concerns regarding academic life at USC for the Director to bring back to the Executive Board.

Tentative dates for the Graduate Research Symposium: Thursday, March 2nd, 2023 (UPC) and Friday, March 3rd, 2023 (HSC).

Led by: Minchang Choi, Director of Academic Affairs – gsgacad@usc.edu

Goals for the 2022-2023 Academic Year

  • Senators will remotely review ~20-30 abstracts in their respective fields.
  • Help with planning and hosting GSG Graduate Research Symposium.
  • Identify and invite UPC and HSC judges composed of faculty members or post-docs.
  • The committee members should help on the days of the GSG symposium (UPC and HSC) with organizing and hosting the event.
  • Consider additional programming to hold that would support academic needs of the graduate student body.

Expected Commitment for Volunteers

~10-15 hours per semester. Remote work and/or help at the GSG Research Symposium (either UPC or HSC), Help with organizing and hosting the event on the symposium dates (monthly 1-hour meetings).

Ad Hoc Committees

Ad Hoc Committees are committees that may be created at any time by an Executive Board member or at the request of a Senator (which must be seconded). These committees shall be temporary in nature and shall not last beyond the end of the Academic Year in which they are proposed. These committees may be proposed the following Academic Year to be reinstated. Each proposed Ad Hoc Committee must have a clearly stated purpose and clearly set forth tasks. This information must be submitted in writing to the President (KJ Queen, gsgpres@usc.edu) and the Senior Vice President (Sam Garza, gsgsvp@usc.edu). The creation of Ad Hoc Committees must pass a Senate vote.

ADMINISTRATION TEAM

Led By: Naomi Joyce Rodgers, Vice President of Administration – gsgvpadm@usc.edu

ELECTIONS & RECRUITMENT COMMITTEE

Led by: Ryan Phong, Director of Elections & Recruitment, gsger@usc.edu

Description/Clearly Stated Purpose

The Elections & Recruitment Committee will be dedicated to ensuring that the hiring process for GSG Executive Board members runs fairly and efficiently. Committee members will solicit and review applications from returning and prospective executive board members. Members will also find new and different ways to increase recruitment and awareness of GSG. The evaluation led by this committee will serve as the first round of assessment, and final hiring decisions will be made by the GSG Executive Board.

Goals for the 2022-2023 Academic Year

  • Encourage students to apply to serve on the GSG Executive Board and other positions in GSG (Senate/committees).
  • Evaluate candidate applications for the upcoming GSG Executive Board. This will be done remotely on an online platform.
  • Identify strong candidates in the evaluation process.

Expected Commitment for Volunteers

All meetings will be held remotely and monthly. Time commitment will be concentrated during Spring 2023 where committee members will be trained and work in teams of two to evaluate applications for the GSG Executive Board, academic year 2023/2024. ~10 hours required in Spring 2023.

GRANTS REVIEW COMMITTEE

The Grants Review Committee will review hundreds of applications during the Fall and Spring semesters for eligibility of the Emergency Fund, Caretaker Subsidy, and Neuropsych grants.

Led by: Sarah Anne Kukich, Director of Grants - gsgtgea@usc.edu

Goals for the 2022-2023 Academic Year

  • Attend a one-time virtual meeting to receive guidance on how the applications will be distributed among the committee, the review timeline, and the review criteria. This date will be scheduled contingent upon committee member availability.
  • Review applications remotely.
  • All applications will be sent to committee members for review on their own time.
  • Application evaluations and determinations will be sent back to the Director of Grants.

Expected Commitment for Volunteers

~5-10 hours per semester. Monthly review of applications during the first two weeks of each month, remotely, and on own time.

ADVOCACY TEAM

Led By: Esthelle Ewusi Boisvert, Vice President of Advocacy – gsgvpadv@usc.edu

 

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT COMMITTEE

The International Student Committee is a safe space for graduate students at both UPC and HSC to raise concerns, identify common issues, and forge relationships between international and domestic students. The core purpose is to find and address issues and concerns faced by international graduate students, with the goal of creating a multi-culturally inclusive learning environment at USC for improving the overall education experience. 

 

Led By: Akansha Prasad, Director of Globalization and Inclusion – gsggi@usc.edu

 

Goals for the 2022-2023 Academic Year

  • Meet once a month to discuss existing concerns and issues facing the international student community from different schools and graduate programs.
  • Identify actionable initiatives that address and solve the above issues.
  • Collaborate with the Office of International Services to advocate for the implementation of student-led initiatives.

 

Expected Commitment for Volunteers

~5-10 hours per semester. Contribution will be primarily attending monthly committee meetings, communicating observed issues and concerns to GSG, advocating for international students, and helping plan activities and and run events (e.g. International Student Appreciation Week) for integrating international students into the USC and American culture

 

ONLINE STUDENT COMMITTEE

GSG and USC Student Affairs want to expand support and resources for USC graduate students enrolled in online programs. We are looking for a team of volunteers to represent the online student community and explore what it would look like to fully include online students in GSG programming and advocate for more online student support. Similarly, USC Student Affairs is seeking to expand and improve the resources currently available to online students. 

 

Led by: Connie Green, Director of Virtual Programming – gsgvrpr@usc.edu & Valencia Belle, Director of Virtual Accessibility - gsgvrax@usc.edu

 

Goals for the 2022-2023 Academic Year

  • Advocating for the concerns of online students.
  • Targeting programs for online students to attend.
  • Increasing accessibility for online students.
  • Connecting online students to the many supports, services, and programs USC has to offer.

 

Expected Commitment for Volunteers

~1-2 hours per month.

 

ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE

The Accessibility Committee's goal is to build a campus which provides equal opportunities to all students and helps bring a voice to those in need of accommodations. The Committee identifies ways to improve accessibility initiatives on campus. Members can potentially contribute to making new events to identify accessibility shortcomings on and off campus and build a stronger community among those who need support.

Led by: Yash Prashant Naik, Director of Accessibility Affairs - gsgaxaf@usc.edu

 

Goals for the 2022-2023 Academic Year

  • Investigate how events on campus at USC are supporting accessibility access.
    • Also includes USC football games' accessibility access.
  • Investigate internships/ fieldwork issues for accessibility accommodation.
  • May collaborate with USG and affiliated committees to work on common issues.

Expected Commitment for Volunteers

~3 hours per month, but may vary depending on potential event setups required.

 

SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

This committee will allow students a more direct medium for voicing sustainability-related concerns at USC. The committee will examine current and proposed initiatives to understand both areas of strength and areas with shortcomings to focus efforts. The committee will allow more student voices to reach the Presidential Working Group on Sustainability in Education, Research and Operations through the Director of Sustainability, ultimately enhancing the University’s vision on sustainability. 

Led by: Ali Vogelaar, Director of Sustainability - gsgsust@usc.edu

 

Goals for the 2022-2023 Academic Year

  • Examine current sustainability initiatives on campus. 
  • Compare initiatives to those taken by fellow universities. 
  • Create suggestions for sustainability initiatives.
  • Increase student influence as a sustainability stakeholder.
  • Collaborate on potential virtual or future in-person sustainability-related events.

Expected Commitment for Volunteers

3-4 hours per semester. Each meeting will be 1 hour, the remainder being independent work and critical thinking about sustainability solutions for USC.

 

 

PROGRAMMING TEAM

Led By: Bridgette Do, Vice President of Programming – gsgvppro@usc.edu

 

PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE

The Programming Committee will assist the Directors on the Programming Team in planning, publicizing, and staffing various GSG social, community service, and diversity and equity events.

 

Led By: Bridgette Do, Vice President of Programming - gsgvppro@usc.edu

 

Goals for the 2022-2023 Academic Year

  • Assist with creating flyers for events.
  • Contact different academic units/departments to advertise events (including your own).
  • Support Directors with event logistics (e.g., set-up, check-in, leading a station, event clean-up)
  • Research volunteer opportunities for graduate students.
  • Generate ideas for fun, exciting events!

 

Expected Commitment for Volunteers

~15 hours per semester. Assist with at least 2 events per semester (e.g., tailgate, Friendsgiving, Serve LA Day of Service). Attend at least 1 event as a participant (more is encouraged!). Promptly check emails and Slack for updates and event sign-ups..

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