EGSA Digest 04.19.13

EGSA,

Thank you to everyone for your donations and other support for the victims of this week’s tragedies. Our prayers are ongoing. Just the basics today.

Announcements

EGSA ELECTIONS

• Elections for new EGSA officers for the 2013-2014 school year will be held next week. You will receive an email with a link to an online survey early in the week
• There is still room for additional candidates. If you are willing to serve in a particular position or would like to nominate someone you know, please email me by the end of the day. Here again is the list of open positions:

1. Vice President: Open (currently Michael Milburn, who will be President next year)
One year term; in second year, becomes President upon approval of EGSA.
Assists the president and the secretary in their duties as needed; along with the President, meets regularly with the GPD and department chair; promotes departmental and campus events (e.g. graduate faculty/student mixers, Beall Poetry Festival, Scholar’s Week); assists Professional Development Coordinators in developing heteroglossia events as needed; updates the EGSA calendar on the website.

2. Secretary: Open (currently Jeremy Leatham)
Records and distributes minutes of EGSA meetings; publishes an EGSA Digest (via email) with announcements from EGSA, GPD, Dept Chair, or other groups/individuals to graduate students on a weekly or bi-weekly basis; sends and collects emails ballots for open positions or other proposals as needed; gathers signatures for “Thank You” cards to secretaries, GPD, the Department chair, the director of freshman composition, the Writing Center director, and EGSA’s faculty advisors at the end of each year for their support of graduate students; keeps a list of current English graduate students, updating the spreadsheet on the EGSA website each year.

3. Treasurer: Open (currently Heidi Seelke)
Collects membership dues ($10) at the beginning of each year; confers with Lois Avey on the EGSA account and keeps financial reports/receipts for EGSA; assists the fundraising chair as needed and assists with the biannual EGSA Conference Financial Committee.

4. Peer Advisor: Open (currently Danielle Williams)
Serves as the contact person for graduate students who have questions about their specific English graduate programs of study; makes available and explains the worksheets for the PhD program and the MA program; sends reminders about deadlines and dissertation/thesis workshops for the graduate program.

5. Professional Development Coordinators (2): Open (currently DeAnn Barta and Josh Boyd)
These officers serve a one-year term. They offer at least one heteroglossia event per semester, soliciting advice from EGSA faculty advisors and Vice President as needed. (Successful past examples include CV writing workshop, publication/research agenda roundtable with professors, how-to sessions with graduate professor/s…)

6. GSA Representative: Open (currently Julie Ooms)
“This person should have been at Baylor for at least one year, with exceptions for those programs that are only one year long. The representative attends monthly GSA meetings, works with one of the standing committees (Academic, Social, or Policy), and exercises a vote on behalf of the graduate students in their department” (GSA description).

7. GSA Alternate: Open (currently Ryan Womack)
“An alternate may be a new student; usually one who is interested in ‘learning the ropes’ and serving as your department’s Representative the following year. The Alternate preferably attends all meetings with the representative, would be introduced to the activities and issues of GSA, and would have the proxy vote if the Representative is not in attendance.” (GSA description)

8. Technology Assistant: Open (currently Kalani Pattison)
The assistant helps the technology chair with his/her duties while learning the EGSA website in order to take over the Technology Chair position the following year.

9. Fundraising Chair: Open (currently Adam Marshall)
The Fundraising Chair is responsible for planning the annual book sale, which consists of collecting book donations, publicizing the event, coordinating volunteers, and working with Student Activities. Those who assist at any fundraising events are considered part of the fundraising committee.

10. Social Chairs (2): Open (currently Elizabeth Fredericks and Sarah Rude)
The two social chairs organize and promote events such as, but not limited to, a fall picnic, a holiday party, a spring Welcome Back Party, Bad Wine/Bad Poetry Night, etc. The fall picnic and Welcome Back party will be held on the first Saturday of the fall and spring semesters, respectively, and other events will be decided at the first EGSA meeting of the year and added to the EGSA calendar on the website.

Upcoming Events

19CRS, Today, 3:30-4:30pm, ABL Lecture Hall

• Mark Knight, “A Tale of Two Cities: Dickens’s Tale of Conversion”

SET, Mon., 22 Apr., 4-5pm, No location posted

• “Service and Learning in a Christian Community”

SET, Thurs., 25 Apr., 11am-12pm, No location posted

• “Fostering a Learning Community in the Classroom”

19CRS, Fri., 26 Apr., 3:30-4:30pm, ABL

• Graduate Student Presentations

Jeremy Leatham

EGSA Secretary