This is to let you know that one of the two Grad Student Rep positions on the Departmental Scholarships Committee (DSC) will be opening up this fall. We'll be taking nominations over the next few weeks (you can nominate yourself, of course), and holding an election for the position at the end of Sept Caucus meeting.
"This is an excellent opportunity to be part of a process that ensures the allocation and ranking of awards is done in a manner that is fair, unbiased and in the best interests of the graduate students that you are representing. It is also invaluable experience with the grant/scholarship/fellowship process and how these awards are administered, something all of us Graduate students have to do."
Ideally, a student holds a DSC Rep position for two years so that at least one of the representatives has had prior experience serving on the committee.
The committee meets about once or twice a semester, during the fall and spring semesters. You are also required to put in a bit of time reading and ranking applications. Part of the reason for having two grad student reps is to ensure that at least one rep can attend each meeting, in case the other is off at a conference, doing field work, etc... DSC Grad Reps are encouraged to apply for departmental scholarships along with everyone else, and the DSC makes an effort to ensure that the selection process is not biased against these students.
In general, the caucus encourages a PhD student to hold one of the positions (currently Sarah Jamieson), and a Masters student to hold the other position (the one that is opening up, previously held by Brendan Connors). However, this is a 'soft' rule, and anyone who is interested should feel free to nominate themselves.
As a previous DSC Grad Rep, I can honestly say that the experience was interesting, informative, had a minimal time commitment, and in my opinion is one of the more enjoyable ways you can volunteer your time in the department (also sounds good on a CV).
Please let us know if you're interested!
Erica Jeffery
Jerry Ericsson
