Minutes from the General EGSA Meeting 09.04.2009

EGSA Minutes: First Meeting of the 2009-10 School Year

 

4 September 2009

 

I. Steve called the meeting to order shortly after three o’clock.

II. Goals of EGSA this Year

A. To facilitate interaction among grad students

– Bethany will soon send an Excel file with all students’ email address, research interests, etc.

B. To facilitate interaction between grad students and faculty

– Department teas

– Upcoming mixer in the Cox Reception Hall of the ABL

– Hamburger supper (later this fall)

– Up to $500 available for department activities which “foster intellectual community.” Contact Dean Scales office for more information (from Mandy Nydegger)

C. To encourage greater involvement in the GSA

– The more voices we have in GSA, the better our experience at Baylor can be

D. To make sure nobody “falls through the cracks”

– Contact the EGSA officers with concerns or questions

E. To put on an excellent conference this spring

– Next EGSA meeting will be devoted to planning this conference

 

III. Introduction to English Hierarchy

A. EGSA Council à EGSA Advisors (Drs. Hanks and Russell) à GPD (Dr. Losey) à department chair (Dr. Vitanza) à Graduate School à University

– Remember to speak directly to an advisor or GPD with questions about your individual programs of study

B. The EGSA President and VP will have monthly meets with the Chair and GPD

– reports from these meetings will be emailed to EGSA

 

IV. Reminders/Matters of Concern

A. “Full-Time” Status

– discussions with the grad school are ongoing

– be aware that FAFSA and most Texas aid programs do not consider you to be a full-time student unless you enrolled in 9 hours per semester

B. Health Insurance

– GSA’s goal is to gain subsidized insurance for all graduate students.

C. Petition for foreign language

– Even if you take a graduate-level language at Baylor, you must petition the Graduate School to accept the course toward your foreign language requirement

– The petition form is available on the Baylor EGSA website (www.bayloregsa.org)

D. Person Degree Audit

– Discuss your requirements with your advisor, GPD, and colleagues

– In the spring, everyone who wishes to take 9 hours should be able to

E. New Year’s Plans

– If you have no done so already, reply to Dr. Losey’s email about plans for next yaer

– If you plan on taking a language during the summer, remember that the language courses are 6 hours, not 3.

– The spring course listings have been established. See the EGSA website for these offerings.

 

V. Secretary and Treasurer’s Report

A. Secretary

– No minutes to report

– Send any information pertinent to the entire EGSA mailing list to bethany_bear@baylor.edu

B. Treasurer

– Virginia received a current financial statement of EGSA funds from Lois

– Current balance: $733.47

– We will need about $1500 for the spring conference

– The last book sale made about $600

– Virginia also reminded all students to pay their dues ($10) and join EGSA

 

VI. Reports from Committee Chairs

A. Technology – Jeff Bilbro

– Send short bios for the website to Bethany (bethany_bear@baylor.edu)

– Many updated links on the EGSA website

~ conference funding forms for both the English Department and Graduate School

~ graduate student calendar

~ various forms, including language petition and others

– Reminder: the EGSA web address is www.bayloregsa.org

 

B. Social Chairs – Margy Thomas and Holland White

– Upcoming EGSA picnic

~ October 10

~ Cameron Park Pecan Bottoms

~ Margy and/or Holland will send more details regarding food in the coming weeks

– Halloween Party: details forthcoming

C. EGSA Conference

– Kathleen Miller not present to give a report

– Contact Kathleen (Katleen_A_Miller@baylor.edu) if you are interested in helping with the conference

D. GSA Reps

– Neither of the GSA reps were present to give a report

 

VII. Upcoming Dates and Future Meetings

A. October 9: Meeting will focus on planning the conference (Conference theme: “Popular Culture” Film and Literature”)

B. November 13: Regular EGSA Meeting

C. Nov/Dec: Conference committee meetings?

D. December 8?: End-of-semester party at Ninfa’s/Cricket’s?

 

VIII. Questions?

– There were no questions

– Students were encourage to email the council with any questions

 

IX. Nominations

A. At-Large Council Members

– No one objected to the Council’s proposal to include representatives who will serve as contacts for all the grad student groups (GA, RA, TA)

– Laura Bedwell was nominated to represent PhD students. She accepted this nomination.

– Naomi Tober was nominated to represent MA students. She accepted this nomination.

B. Fundraising Chair

– Danielle was nominated as the fundraising chair for this year. She has accepted this nomination and position.

C. Second GSA Alt

– Reid Makowsky, Mollie Moore, and Heidi Seelke were nominated and accepted the nomination.

– Naomi Tober was nominated and declined the nomination.

D. PDCs for Heteroglossia

– Lanta Davis, Dustin Morrow, and Cameron Moore were nominated and accepted their nominations.

– David Clark was nominated. His acceptance is pending.

 

E. Election

– a ballot will be emailed to the EGSA mailing list in the coming week

X. Miscellaneous

A. Peter Epps, a recent English PhD graduate, encouraged all grad students to attend the MLA conference the year before entering the job market. Students interested in learning more about the MLA can contact Peter at pgepps@gmail.com or linkedin.com/in/pgepps