The UNLV Graduate & Professional Student Association
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NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
GPSA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING 44-08
MINUTES
Friday, September 27th, 2024
9:00AM
HYBRID PUBLIC MEETING:
IN PERSON: GRADUATE COMMONS CONFERNCE ROOM
LIED LIBRARY 2ND FLOOR
VIRTUAL:
PASSCODE: GPSAUNLV
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE AGENDA AND PUBLIC MEETING NOTE:
PERTAINING TO VIRTUAL MEETINGS:
This meeting will be held via teleconference only pursuant to Section 1 of the Declaration of Emergency Directive 006 (“Directive 006”) issued by the State of Nevada Executive Department. If a physical location is required for the meeting, participants may be able to access the livestream by visiting the Graduate Commons at the Lied Library 2nd floor.
Public Comment may be submitted via email to gpsapresident@unlv.edu.
Messages received by 9:00 AM on the Monday prior to the meeting may be entered into the record during the meeting. Any other public comment form submissions and/or voicemails received prior to the adjournment of the meeting will be transcribed and included in the permanent record.
Members of the public wishing to listen to the meeting may do so via:
CONTINUED:
Below is an agenda of all items scheduled to be presented and considered at the meeting. Notification is hereby provided that items on the agenda may be taken out of the order and presented, two or more agenda items may be combined for consideration, and an agenda item may be removed from the agenda or discussion relating to an item on the agenda may be delayed at any time.
Some agenda items are noted as having accompanying reference material. Copies of the reference materials that are distributed at the meeting may be requested by emailing the Executive Board at gpsa@unlv.edu.
This meeting’s agenda has been posted in accordance with NRS 241.020. Copies of the agenda and reference material will be made available as follows: 1. Digitally at the UNLV.edu/GPSA/Agendas and the Nevada Public Notice Website, 2. Physically located on the First Floor of the Lied Library at 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, 3. Physically located in the Carol C. Harter Classroom Building Complex (CHB) at 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV.
Reasonable efforts will be made to assist and accommodate persons with a disability attending the meeting. Please email the GPSA Manager at gpsa@unlv.edu in advance so that arrangements may be made.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Public comment will be taken during this agenda item. No action may be taken on a matter raised under this item until the matter is included on an agenda as an item on which action may be taken. Comments will be limited to three minutes per person. Persons making comment will be asked to begin by stating their name for the record and to spell their last name. The Board Chair may elect to allow additional public comment on a specific agenda item when that agenda item is being considered. In accordance with Attorney General Opinion No. 00-047, as restated in the Attorney General’s Open Meeting Law Manual, the Chair may prohibit comment if the content of that comment is a topic that is not relevant to, or within the authority of, the Body, or if the content is willfully disruptive of the meeting by being irrelevant, repetitious, slanderous, offensive, inflammatory, irrational or amounting to personal attacks or interfering with the rights of other speakers.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
|
PRESIDENT |
VICE PRESIDENT |
TREASURER |
SECRETARY |
|
☑ Teresa Marie |
☑ Aliciah Carr |
☑ Devin Lopez |
☑ David King |
PRESIDENT’S CABINET (EX-OFFICIO, NON-VOTING)
|
Engagement & Outreach Director |
Chief of Staff |
Director of Operations |
Director of Communications & Marketing |
|
◻ Ariadna Gutierrez Excused |
◻VACANT |
◻ VACANT |
☑ Delight Ejiaka |
Members of the Public Present
☑ Virginia Smercina – GPSA Business Manager
☑ Bill Robinson – GPSA Faculty Advisor
John Colombo - School of Dental Medicine
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
- PUBLIC COMMENT INFORMATION ONLY
(See foregoing notation regarding public comment)
- APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
- The GPSA Executive Board will consider approval of the minutes from the September 2024 Executive Board Meetings (44-07) as posted to the public GPSA Agenda's Drive.
Motioned by Treasurer Lopez, seconded by VP Carr. Passed unanimously.
- REPORTS & RECOMMENDATIONS INFORMATION ONLY
3a) GPSA Executive Board & Committees
-
- President
President Marie will report to the GPSA Executive Board concerning UNLV related issues or events important to the UNLV graduate student body. Discuss email etiquette.
President Marie provided an update on the Shadow Lane campus and preschool expansion, stating that due to insufficient funding, both projects are currently on hold. She also discussed the Care Support program, which will present at the November meeting, and the Rebel Rebound program, which she advised to reapply for funding annually. President Marie emphasized that the GPSA's Constitution only permits funding allocation for a year, and all programs should reapply each year. She also mentioned that UNLV is underfunded by approximately $150 million and is transitioning to a 40/61st tenure faculty split, which may negatively impact support for graduate students. President Marie also discussed the need for the team to check their emails regularly and respond promptly to avoid any issues.
-
- Vice President
Vice President Carr will report to the GPSA Executive Board concerning UNLV related issues or events important to the UNLV graduate student body.
Vice President Carr mentioned the delay in sending out decision letters due to the sponsorship committee's inability to finish their applications on time.
-
- Treasurer
Treasurer Lopez will report to the GPSA Executive Board concerning UNLV related issues or events important to the UNLV graduate Student body.
Treasurer Lopez announced his upcoming Comp on October 8th and his unavailability from the 1st to the 8th, during which he would respond to urgent emails only.
-
- Secretary
Secretary King will report to the GPSA Executive Board concerning UNLV related issues or events important to the UNLV graduate Student body.
No reports.
3b) GPSA Business Manager & Advisor
Business Manager Smercina will report to the GPSA Executive Board concerning UNLV related issues or events important to the UNLV graduate student body.
3c) GPSA Faculty Advisor
Faculty Advisor Bill Robinson will report to the Executive Board concerning UNLV related issues or events important to the UNLV graduate student body.
The meeting involved discussions about the addition of Dr. John Colombo as the secondary faculty advisor. Dr. Colombo, a faculty member in the Biomedical Sciences department and chair of the Admissions Committee, expressed his willingness to serve as a conduit of information and interface with the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA). He also offered to facilitate tours of the dental school and encouraged GPSA members to reach out to him for any needs.
3d) GPSA President’s Cabinet
- Engagement & Outreach Director
- Director of Operations
- Director of Communications & Marketing
- Chief of Staff
- UNFINISHED BUSINESS FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
Unfinished Business is any motion or action item that was under discussion and was postponed or moved to this meeting at the discretion of the public body as approved by the chair.
- NEW BUSINESS FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
New business is any motion that is new to this meeting. All items will be for action unless otherwise stated.
5a) ADA Compliance for PDFs INFORMATION ONLY
Kristine/Business Manager Smercina requests time to discuss with the executive board the new approach that will be used to ensure ADA compliance with GPSA documents (Grackle Docs).
President Marie discussed the need for a more efficient system for managing and sharing agendas, suggesting the use of Google Docs and Grackle Docs organized by Kristine. She asked the team to review a video on how to use Grackle Docs and to create a Google Doc version of every agenda in the Google Drive. President Marie and Secretary King discussed the transition from posting attachments to copying and pasting the agenda into the text body for ADA compliance.
President Marie discussed the upcoming annual budget report and her work on compiling a list of all registered student organizations (RSOs) for graduate students. She also highlighted the differences between the graduate and undergraduate student governments, particularly in terms of budget allocation. President Marie mentioned the reorganization of their organization, which is expected to be finalized within a week or two, and the challenges faced by their student body government due to their constitutional limitations. She emphasized the importance of maintaining their organization's values and avoiding selective support for certain groups. President Marie also discussed the success of a recent event at the Wetlands and introduced a template for event ideas. Treasurer Lopez proposed the implementation of a formal budget process for GPSA, which President Marie agreed to move around and bring up again. Treasurer Lopez also explained the process for organizations requesting funds, which is a vote by the Ways and Means Committee to allocate discretionary funds.
President Marie discussed the arrangements for the upcoming football game, including parking passes for the President's box and tailgating in Lot B. Treasurer Lopez raised a concern about his guests arriving late and needing an additional parking ticket, which President Marie suggested could be purchased online. President Marie also mentioned that there would be a large turnout for the game, including 18 people from her group. She encouraged everyone to dress appropriately for the hot weather and mentioned that there would be sunscreen available. President Marie also discussed the upcoming Homecoming event, which would feature a booth with inflatables, games, and a Disney theme.
President Marie discussed the upcoming Homecoming event, emphasizing the need for volunteers and the importance of involving graduate students. She mentioned the beer garden, golf cart parade, and the possibility of winning first place in the parade. President Marie also mentioned the Grad Rebel Appreciation Day at the dining commons and the need for volunteers for this event. She asked Secretary King to add volunteers to the GPSA volunteers Google group and to share the sign-up link for Homecoming.
President Marie discussed the underutilization of a renovated nursing classroom at the Shadow Lane campus, which has been released into the central booking pool. She also announced an upcoming event on November 5th to celebrate 1st generation students and expressed concern over the lack of student wellness at the medical or Shadow Lane campus. President Marie and VP Carr discussed the challenges of catering to diverse needs within the GPSA, with President Marie suggesting that faculty involved in the program understand the challenges and the need for support.
- PUBLIC COMMENT INFORMATION ONLY
(See foregoing notation regarding public comment)
Faculty Advisor John Colombo had public comment regarding the unused space on the Shadow Lane campus.
- ANNOUNCEMENTS INFORMATION ONLY
- ADJOURNMENT FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
Adjourned at 10:21am.