Graduate Student Association

Series 1. Minutes and Agendas
The commitment of the Graduate Student Association to graduate student advocacy and interdepartmental communication can be viewed by reading the minutes and agendas of Graduate Student Association meetings. The minutes contain detailed reports given by student representatives concerning campus committees such as Campus Parking and Security, Affirmative Action, Development Council, Faculty Senate, Graduate Council, Library Committee, University Appeals Board on Scholastic Conduct and Integrity, and University Board on Student Conduct. The minutes outline critical graduate issues and the steps taken by the Association to address these concerns.

Series 2. Defunct Committees
The Defunct Committees Series contains memos, letters, reports, and publications of committees in which the GSA participated. The information contained in these folders represents graduate student involvement on campus. Graduate student representatives can be found on numerous committees such as the Advisory Committee, Commission on Undergraduate Life, Committee to Evaluate Administrators, Faculty Appeal Board and Judicial System Review.

Of interest is the Mackal Forum (See Folder 52), a committee that discussed the use of a donation specifically given to construct an ice arena. After the voters of Rhode Island turned down a referendum requesting necessary additional funding for the project, a committee was formed to decide how to spend the donor's money a manner most consistent with the donor's original wish (See Folder 52).

Series 3. Subject Series 1966-1982
Subject Series 1966-82 contains materials on tuition assistance, parking concerns, graduate student newsletters, financial transactions, and social gatherings. Always ready to advocate for its members, the Graduate Student Association (GSA) gathered statistical data concerning professors' salaries and graduate student stipends and supported increasing University of Rhode Island wages to match those provided by other universities (See folder 62). Realizing that most graduate students are self-supporting and that many have families, the GSA lobbied for affordable graduate housing and University-site child-care (See folders 92 and 141). Of special importance to the Graduate Student Association was the elimination of the health fee for graduate students. Coverage did not extend to serious illnesses and out-of -pocket medical expenses made the fee redundant (See folders 135-140).

The GSA was also interested in providing entertainment to its members and arranged trips to Boston to see Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox games (See folders 74, 75, 172). For members who wanted active athletic participation, the GSA organized golf tournaments and ski trips (See folders 120, 150).

Scattered issues of the GSA newsletters are also available in the Archives (Archives LD4706 G74 G71, Archives LD4706 G 74 N 4, Archives LD4706 G 74 G7).

Series 4. Subject Series 1982-1987
Subject Series 1982-87 contains materials on the Graduate Student Association assistant program, elections, campus planning and coordinating, graduate student newsletters, financial transactions, and social gatherings. The Graduate Student Association assistance program aided students by providing additional funding for programs varying from cultural education to sporting events. Of interest is a 1985 chemistry symposium on the designs and implications of the space shuttle (See folder 210). The Graduate Student Association placed special emphasis upon providing orientation information to new graduate students and assembled a package which included a graduate student manual as well as information on health care, library usage, student development, intramural sports, and Rhode Island maps, guides, and directories (See folders 267-269).

Series 5. Graduate Council
The Graduate Council series contains minutes, agendas, and course offering proposals from the Graduate Council Meetings dating 1966, 1968-78, and 1980-86. The Graduate Council minutes contain information concerning curriculum, graduate degree requirements, changes in existing courses and new degree programs. Of interest is a 1974 course proposal on historic house restoration. Citing an increase in historic interest with the advent of the bi-centennial, the College of Home Economics offered a course emphasizing interior restoration of finishes, hardware, furniture and textiles (See folder 317). For graduate students interested in speech-communication, a 1975 course on the Ethics of Persuasion proposed to study the purposes, means and results of persuasive speech on an interpersonal, institutional and political id="c311" level (See folder 316).