GRADUATE COUNCIL
Annual Report
2007 – 2008

Graduate Council (GC) held sixteen meetings this year (9/17, 10/1, 10/15, 11/5, 11/12, 11/26, 12/10, 12/17, 1/31, 2/14, 3/13, 3/27, 4/10, 4/24, 5/8, 5/20). The major initiatives undertaken by GC are summarized below.

Competitiveness of Grad Student Stipends: The GC met with Provost Eric Kaler to emphasize the critical importance of improving grad student stipends and the affordability of housing.

Responsible Conduct of Research: The GC continued the task force to develop recommendations on a university-wide training program for the responsible conduct of research, with the following membership:

Peter Gergen, Chair                 (Associate Dean of the Graduate School)
Susan Brennan              (Psychology)
Beverly Campbell                     (Graduate Program Coordinator, Pharmacology)
Robert Crease                          (Chairperson, Philosophy)
Sara Lipton                              (History)
Judy Matuk                              (Office of Research Services)
Anne McElroy              (Graduate Program Director, Marine Sciences)
Arleen Steckel                          (School of Nursing)
Amanda Stent                           (Computer Sciences)
Kathleen Welch                        (Graduate Program Director, Writing and Rhetoric)
Peter Williams              (School of Medicine, Course Director of GRD 500)

Requests for Programmatic Changes

  • On 9/17 a proposal for a PhD in Population Health and Clinical Outcomes Research was approved.
  • On 4/10 a proposal for an MS/MBA in Computer Science was approved.
  • On 4/10 a proposal for an MA/MBA in Public Policy was approved.
  • On 5/20 a proposal for a PhD in Technology, Policy, and Innovation was approved.


Policy changes

  • New Deadline for Dissertation Defense Committee Appointment Requests will be snapshot each semester.
  • GC approved new syllabus statements on academic dishonesty, critical incident management, and disabilities.
  • New policy on dissertation committees which includes wording on conflicts of interest.
  • New policy on preliminary committees.


Graduate Council Fellowships and Awards
The GC Fellowships and Awards Committee extended offers of GC Fellowships and Pieper Awards to graduate programs this spring.  GC thanks the members of the GC Fellowship and Awards committee for the considerable time and effort that they expended in evaluating the large pool of outstanding candidates.

Miscellaneous

  • The GC participated in external reviews of Anthropology/IDPAS, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.

Respectfully submitted,

Charles S. Taber
Chair, Graduate Council