Graduate Student Association

Governance

The Xavier Graduate Student Association (GSA) is governed by an Executive Board of 6 members and Program Representatives. Each graduate program is entitled to appoint one representative to serve the GSA. Each graduate program is entitled to one vote; the graduate program representative carries this vote. Elected executive board positions are held for one year, from May through April of the following year.

You can find the GSA's constitution here.

Here are the duties of the Executive Board:

President: The President is the executive officer, and acts as the spokesperson to the administration of the University. The President coordinates and oversees all other officers' activities. The President is a liaison between the University Community and GSA. The President reports to the executive board and the GSA body. The President is also responsible for consulting on the budget at the beginning of each school year with the Executive Board. The President will attend the Board of Trustees meetings, Student Affairs Student Leadership Advisory Board meetings, and any other broad-scale university councils which ask for graduate student input.

Vice President: The Vice President fills in for the President whenever needed, confers with the President on all matters that involve the Graduate School and the University administration including serving as the liaison between the GSA and all graduate students, serving on university councils or committees. The Vice President will preside over GSA meetings and fulfill presidential duties in the event of the president's absence. The Vice President advocates and responds to the needs of all graduate students. The Vice President will preside as co-chair with the Treasurer over the Graduate Student Organization Committee.

Secretary: The Secretary will maintain the current membership and committee list and keep the minutes of the Executive and General Assembly meetings. The Secretary will also gather all information from outside sources and distribute it to pertinent board members. The Secretary is responsible for all clerical work (typing letters, copies, coordinate mailings, etc.), as well as composing and submitting press releases. The Secretary is responsible for the GSA email inbox, the student involvement platform, and will assist in communications regarding events. This could include, but is not limited to, creating flyers, social media content, and program registration.

Treasurer: The Treasurer is responsible for conducting all day-to-day financial transactions, including keeping detailed records of these transactions and reporting the financial state of the GSA to the Executive Board and the GSA General Assembly. The Treasurer is also responsible for developing a budget at the beginning of each school year with the Executive Board due to the Advisor(s) no later than September 1st. The Treasurer will preside as co-chair with the Vice President over the Graduate Student Organization Committee.

Social Events Chair: The Social Events Chair is responsible for all major social and community events. The Chair oversees all GSA programming and is responsible for managing the Student Unity Committee as well as the GSA Instagram account. This position focuses on internal relations and builds membership engagement throughout the academic year.

Online Student Advocate: The Online Student Advocate is responsible to represent the interests of the graduate students taking classes in an online format. They shall bring the concerns of this population to the Executive Board and University administration. The Online Student Advocate will also plan programming initiatives dedicated to students taking classes online.

Here are the duties of the Program Representatives:

Program Representative: Representatives selected to serve their department’s constituency must attend ALL regularly scheduled GSA General Assembly meetings over the course of their term. Representatives are responsible for forwarding and distributing all announcements and information disseminated by the GSA to all graduate students in the representative's home department or program. It is the program representative's responsibility to coordinate communication with his/her respective program using the best modality and frequency for majority of students in program. Also, program representatives are encouraged to incorporate information about GSA into previously existing intra-departmental communications (i.e., program newsletters, program meetings, etc.).

Representatives will also serve as student ambassadors to their programs for prospective students. Duties may include: providing campus tours, speaking with prospective students, allowing prospective students to shadow their class, and responding to communications from their department’s Graduate Admissions Advisor.