ABOUT US

   Founded in 2006, the Graduate Student Congress's mission is to bring together and represent the graduate-professional student and postdoc bodies at the University of Kentucky. This is accomplished through the organization of activities geared toward the social well-being and professional development of graduate-profesisonal students and postdocs at UK. Frequently partnering with other entities on campus, such as the Graduate School and the Student Government Organization, the GSC also provides a unique platform from which our members concerns may be voiced to the university at large.

    As an elected body of graduate-professional students and postdocs, the GSC offers a number of ways for graduate-professional students and postdocs to advocate for themselves, especially through our committee structure. Current committees of the GSC include: the Appropriations and Revenue, Awards, Instituinal Advocacy, Institutional Research, Professional Development and Networking, Communications and Documents, and External Affairs committees.

   The Fall semester is a busy time for GSC, which organizes a number of different social and academic events. During this time, an Ice Cream Social is organized in conjunction with the Graduate School to welcome students back for a new semester. While the Ice Cream Social allows an opportunity for interdisciplinary fellowship at UK, events like the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition allow graduate students to compete locally for a chance to participate in the national championship.

   One of the main events during the Spring semester is Graduate Student Gala, the Grad Gala is an opportunity to celebrate the work of the GSC Executive Board and Representatives, the Conference Travel, and Research Awards winners, the graduate student who advanced to the National 3MT competition, and UK administrators who have offered exemplary support to the GSC throughout the year. Twice yearly, the GSC coordinates a Trip to the Capital—once to Frankfurt, KY and once to Washington D.C.—for UK students who would like to directly interact with our representatives. Also, in April the GSC organizes Graduate Student Appreciation Week where each day offers a new and fun event geared towards making the end of the semester better for our student body.

   Throughout the academic year, professional development workshops are planned with the goal of addressing the current needs of our student body. Such events include the Graduate-Professional Student Leaders Conference and the Life After Grad School Conference. Also, these workshops help to bring students together outside of their disciplines to explore, learn, and be inspired.

Originally Ratified: 04/05/2018

Last Modified: 11/28/2018

EMPLOYMENT CONCERNS

• The GSC supports the rights of students to decide to organize efforts to unionize.

• The GSC supports the rights of student workers, including: support for a living wage, support for fair employment practices, and support for nondiscriminatory hiring practices. 

• The GSC supports the recognition of graduate student workers as productive employees of their respective universities.

• The GSC supports the right of graduate students to access worker’s compensation in the event of accident or injury while pursuing educational goals.

ON CAMPUS CONCERNS

• The GSC supports the right to affordable education for graduate students, including fees and tuition that are fair, as well as the right to reasonable financial support by their institutions.

• The GSC supports all reasonable efforts that encourage the transparency of all institutional academic fees. The GSC also supports the right of graduate and professional students to have access to and control over a proportional amount of their student fees.

• The GSC supports the rights of pregnant and parenting graduate and professional student, including parental leave, access to affordable childcare, and resources, as well as support for student parents (e.g. lactation rooms, sick/emergency/snow care, etc.).

• The GSC supports the right of students to leaves of absence for personal support, including: family leave, bereavement leave, leave for caretakers, and medical leaves of absence.

• The GSC supports access to affordable healthcare and comprehensive coverage, including coverage for international students and dependents. 

• The GSC supports extension of benefits to graduate and professional students that are currently exclusively offered to undergraduate students to the extent to which those benefits are relevant to the graduate and professional student population.

• The GSC supports open communication between students and administrators about the rights and responsibilities of graduate and professional students, including but not limited to campus resources on mental health, social justice, professional development, and financial support

• The GSC supports the creation of a Graduate and Professional Student Center which provides resources and activities specific to their needs, including but not limited to diverse career development, interpersonal development, and family and parent support. 

• The GSC supports all reasonable efforts to include graduate and professional students in all major administrative units and decisions, including the Board of Trustees, Hiring Boards, and University Councils and Senates.  

• The GSC supports the access of graduate and professional students to a work and educational environment free from hostility and discrimination. It supports student access to mentors trained in best practices regarding mentorship and support. 

• The GSC supports the development of diverse mentorship practices, including peer-based programs and flexible mentoring programs.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

• The GSC supports the rights of students who are victims of sexual assault and relationship violence, including rights to due process and institutional protection and support.

• The GSC supports the creation of just systems which acknowledge and respond to the emotional, financial, medical, and psychological burdens of victims and the wrongfully accused. 

• The GSC supports policies of affirmative consent, including but not limited to policies of “Yes Means Yes.”

• The GSC supports the rights of students to be free from harassment, discrimination, or violence on the basis of membership in or alignment with an identity- , creed- or social-based group, including but not limited to students of color, students of all sexual orientations, gender identities, countries of origin, and religious orientations. 

• The GSC supports the right of students to free speech and advocacy, recognizing the important contributions of graduate students to issues that impact social justice and public and/or university policy.

• The GSC supports the rights of students to fair investigations and hearings regarding institutional violations conducted under the appropriate standards of civil proceedings as well as the protection of the constitutional rights of all parties.

• The GSC supports an atmosphere conducive to positive mental health, including training for mentors and faculty on the unique stressors of graduate school and access to affordable and comprehensive mental health treatment options. 

• The GSC supports the right of students to academic freedom and right of expression, free from censorship.

• The GSC supports programs that will provide support and guidance for undocumented graduate students eligible under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program who face displacement locally and nationally.

HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING

• The GSC supports federal income-based loan repayment programs. In particular we support:

  • Loan forgiveness/forbearance policies for workers in nonprofit fields, public service, and underserved communities;

  • Removing education loans as an exception to discharge from bankruptcy;

  • Federal loan consolidation programs, including seeking more options in these programs in fixed or variable interest rate choices and the ability to consolidate loans.

• The GSC opposes any measure that would result in increased loan costs to students or that cuts funding from the Federal student loan programs.

• The GSC urges the Administration and Legislators to maintain or increase the amount of federal funding provided for America’s colleges and universities.

• The GSC urges lawmakers to increase borrowing limits for federal student loans and to periodically adjust for inflation and the rising cost of tuition.

• The GSC supports the maintenance and continued funding of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program and urges lawmakers to adjust federal loan program to match graduate student time to degree and expenses. We oppose any efforts to cut funding from Federal student loan programs.

• The GSC calls for the resetting of loan grace periods after completion of any full academic year to ensure that student with breaks in their education status are not prevented from completing their educations.

• The GSC urges support for education programs in financial literacy for higher education.

• The GSC supports legislation that discourages predatory lending practices.

• The GSC supports graduate fellowship programs as a means of training tomorrow’s leaders of industry, government, education, and research.

• The GSC urges the Administration and Legislators to provide, wherever possible, additional sources of grant funding for graduate and professional students. Specifically, the GSC supports increased funding for the graduate fellowship programs included in the Higher Education Act.

• The GSC also supports graduate and professional fellowship programs that are portable and that provide educational opportunities to traditionally underrepresented groups, as well as to traditionally underfunded disciplines.

• The GSC supports cultural and intellectual diversity and suggests the expansion of federal fellowships for international students.

• The GSC does not support across-the-board denial of access to financial aid based on a student’s convictions for a drug related offense, nor should any criminal offense prevent access to federal student loans.

• The GSC supports measures that reduce the tax burden on graduate and professional students, such as the protecting of and broadening tax exemptions and deductions for graduate and professional student expenses.

• The GSC urges increasing tax deductibility of student loan interest. Additionally, the GSC urges legislators to index the income limitation on student loan interest deductions to the rate of inflation.

EDUCATIONAL POLICY

• The GSC urges the Administration and Legislators to adopt policies related to open access for published scholarly material.

• The GSC supports policies that allow for the creation, dissemination, and use of Open Educational Resources.

• The GSC supports legislative efforts that encourage diversity at institutions of higher learning.

• The GSC supports policies that encourage investments in innovation through education and research.

• The GSC encourages the establishment of a Graduate and Professional Education Advisory Committee in the Department of Education comprised of university and student representatives.

• The GSC encourages the appointment of a graduate and professional education coordinator within the Office of Postsecondary Education in the Department of Education.

• The GSC supports federal recognition of the first week of April as an annual celebration of Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week.

• The GSC firmly opposes any attempt to infringe on the First Amendment rights of students to establish and fund their own programs, to publish scholarly work without fear of reprisal, and to engage in advocacy, lobbying, or debate.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT CONCERNS

• The GSC supports international students’ rights to feel secure and welcomed by the culture of their institutions.

• The GSC supports nondiscrimination against international students in housing and employment.

• The GSC supports the right of international students to be free from coercion or bullying in employment. International students should have the right to fair hours and the ability to visit their home countries.

• The GSC urges policymakers, law enforcement, and school administrators to respect international students’ civil and human rights and to uphold their rights to due process.

• The GSC urges university officials and higher education organizations to work for fairer student visa policies and actively advocate for their students whose visas have been unfairly denied or delayed.

• The GSC urges lawmakers to make more visas and green cards available to non-U.S. born students who obtain their graduate degrees in the U.S.

• The GSC emphatically opposes blanket bans on international student entry based on their country of origin and/or field of study.

• The GSC supports all reasonable efforts to shorten student visa and security check processing.

• The GSC urges that all student visas, regardless of the student’s country of origin and/or field of study, should be multiple-entry and of a duration consistent with that of the student’s educational program.

• The GSC supports the right of legal immigrants to pursue a graduate or professional education without impediment, as well as the ability to participate in federal student aid programs.

• The GSC supports any legislative efforts that encourage U.S. permanent residency, citizenship, and civic participation among graduates from institutions of higher learning.

• The GSC opposes legislative efforts that unduly discriminate against international students.

Ratified: 04/01/2021

Executive Summary

The 2020 - 2021 Executive Board of the Graduate Student Congress (GSC) at the University of Kentucky (UK) has drafted a strategic plan that outlines our organization’s goals and major initiatives for the next three years (2021 - 2023). In general, this includes: (1) internal graduate and professional student advocacy; (2) enhancing and strengthening the GSC itself; and (3) implementing programs and practices that meet the needs of graduate and professional students.

State of Graduate Education

Graduate and professional students across the United States are faced with many distinct political, social, professional, academic, and financial challenges. Not only must graduate and professional students contend with a political and social environment that is hostile to higher education and scientific research, in general, but they also face diminishing career prospects  within academia, specifically, and particularly for the jobs they are trained to secure. Graduate and professional students are also disproportionately affected by the volatile federal immigration policies that affect higher education, as many more graduate and professional students than undergraduate students come from other countries. In addition, graduate and professional degrees cost more, yet assistantship stipends remain historically low, in many cases, forcing graduate and professional students below the poverty line for five (5) to seven (7) years. What’s more, graduate and professional students struggle with increasingly poor and unstandardized advising/mentoring from graduate faculty, and the average graduate or professional student is six (6) times more likely to have poor mental health and wellbeing compared to the average American citizen.

Besides, graduate and professional education at the University of Kentucky is in need of investment and reform. In 2018, the university’s Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) on Graduate Education, was tasked with “envisioning the graduate student experience and developing a rigorous intellectual vision for the University of Kentucky’s graduate education mission for the next 10-15 years.” As of 2020, none of the strategic initiatives suggested by the panel were pursued by Central Administration and so another Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) on Graduate Student Wellness was created. Their report has yet to be released, but in early 2021, the GSC was able to convince Central Administration to fund and hire a Graduate Student Career Advisor position, as well as a Basic Needs Graduate Assistantship for Fall 2021. The Graduate School is also currently in the process of hiring a new Associate Provost/Dean of the Graduate School.

Importantly, graduate and professional students have unique needs as teachers, professionals, and researchers. Graduate and professional student fees should be prioritized for conference, research, professional development, and graduation regalia awards, alleviating degree- and professionalization- mandated financial burdens. This prioritization would decrease the strain on the small stipends that many graduate and professional students receive, which barely cover housing and food costs. Additional fees directed at providing advanced professional development opportunities in the form of workshops, conferences, networking events, and the like, would also allow graduate and professional students to more effectively prepare for their desired careers, whether that be inside or outside academia. 

Therefore, graduate and professional students should have representation at all levels of university administration. Representation at all levels not only ensures that more policies, programs, and initiatives are supported by graduate and professional students, but it also helps to prepare graduate and professional students for the type of professional responsibilities they might assume when entering the workforce, both within and beyond academia. The Graduate Student Congress (GSC) – an organization consisting of, led by, and dedicated to serving all graduate and professional students at the University of Kentucky – is uniquely equipped to  ensure these needs are met in a manner benefiting all graduate and professional students.

Unfortunately, given the current global pandemic, economic downturn, and widespread social unrest, the Graduate Student Congress (GSC) remains hampered in its ability to ensure the needs of graduate and professional students at the University of Kentucky are heard and addressed. The GSC still retains almost no control over fees paid by graduate and professional students at UK, nor does it have much authority to approve policies or practices that affect graduate and professional student welfare. Official graduate and professional student representation also remains solely through the Student Government Association (SGA), which is largely controlled by undergraduate students; and most of the graduate and professional student fees paid to both the SGA and Student Activities Board (SAB) still do not benefit graduate and professional students. With the support of the Graduate School, the Graduate Student Congress (GSC) continues to seek legislative and financial autonomy from the Student Government Association (SGA) and the Student Activities Board (SAB).

Graduate and professional students are the future professors, researchers, administrators, and leaders of institutions of higher education, like the University of Kentucky, as well as of the state of Kentucky, the United States, and the world. It is essential that they are granted sufficient and appropriate training, education, and resources while they are at the University of Kentucky. The Graduate Student Congress (GSC) seeks to ensure that graduate and professional students at UK are prepared accordingly, and to that end, we propose the following short- and long-term goals. 

Vision/Position Statement

We envision a Graduate Student Congress (GSC) that is an official governing body at the University of Kentucky guided primarily by the voices of graduate and professional students and endowed with the financial and legislative means to enact change for the welfare of all graduate and professional students at UK. The GSC deserves to receive and control all the mutually-paid graduate and professional student fees currently received by SGA and SAB, as well as directly represent graduate and professional students at all levels of the university (e.g., President’s Council, Provost’s Council, Board of Trustees, etc.). Moreover, the GSC should be more involved in discussing and influencing university policies and procedures, and the GSC should continue to work closely with UK administrators, other organizations, offices, and programs to achieve its goals.

The GSC is the only student-run organization at the University of Kentucky that is in the best position to pursue initiatives and actions that serve to benefit all graduate and professional students in an egalitarian and just manner. As such, the GSC should be recognized by university leadership as the preeminent advocacy and governing group for graduate and professional students at UK. The GSC promotes responsible and ethical research conduct, maintains transparency and detailed records for all of its functions, and provides quality interpersonal and professional development opportunities for graduate and professional students. Additionally, the GSC functions akin to a House of Representatives rather than a Senate, meaning each individual graduate degree program or department can elect at least one Representative to serve in the Congress. This model allows for a unique and dynamic perspective on the graduate and professional student experience at the University of Kentucky, and as a result, the GSC is able to provide more tailored development programs to graduate and professional students while simultaneously allowing those students to participate in the cultivation of those programs. 

Finally, in the last 15 years, the Graduate Student Congress (GSC) has grown exponentially, and has successfully provided (and continues to provide) valuable resources and support for between 8,000 and 9,000 graduate and professional students annually at the University of Kentucky. The GSC excels at using flexibility and creativity to solve the myriad of problems facing 21st century graduate and professional students. As graduate and professional students ourselves, we experience and know intimately the challenges of graduate education, yet our passion and drive for the welfare of all graduate and professional students at institutions of higher education fuels our aims and our actions. 

Mission Statement

The mission of the Graduate Student Congress (GSC) is to unify and represent graduate students, professional students, and postdoctoral scholars at the University of Kentucky in matters affecting quality of life, and to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and professional development through seminars, forums, outreach programming, advocacy, and community enhancement.

Values

As an organization, the values we hold that guide our daily activities are:

1. Graduate and Professional Student Representation: As we pursue initiatives, develop programs, and plan events we will ask ourselves: Which graduate and professional students are most affected? Have we adequately requested and received feedback from those graduate and professional students? How can we better listen to and unify the voices of all graduate and professional students? 

2. Fellowship and Collaboration: As we pursue initiatives, develop programs, and plan events we will ask ourselves: Who, other than graduate or professional students, is at the negotiating table and who should be at the table? How might we effectively collaborate with other members of the UK community? How can we foster long-lasting partnerships and support structures for graduate and professional students?

3. Graduate and Professional Education Focused Decisions: As we pursue initiatives, develop programs, and plan events we will ask ourselves: What decision best contributes to the learning and development of graduate and professional students? What decision best help them advocate for their needs? How best can we meet those needs? How might an action or policy help some graduate and professional students at the expense of other graduate and professional students? And how might we mediate this?

4. Social Responsibility: As we pursue initiatives, develop programs, and plan events we will ask ourselves: As members of the local, state, and national community, how can we protect, promote, and support the just treatment of graduate and professional students? Relatedly, what responsibility do we have to protect, promote, and support the interests of higher education, in general?

5. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Matter: As we pursue initiatives, develop programs, and plan events we will ask ourselves: What different intersecting identities are involved and how might we be welcoming to people of all backgrounds, experiences, and identities? How representative is the GSC body of the diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and identities in our community? How can we ensure that we do not enhance existing power imbalances? How can we best demonstrate equity and inclusion in our relations with other organizations and individuals, both inside and outside the university?

6. Academic & Professional Growth: As we pursue initiatives, develop programs, and plan events we will ask ourselves: How do we help graduate and professional students grow not only academically, but also professionally? What skills and experiences (e.g., mentoring, communication, project management, teamwork, etc.) will graduate and professional students need for non-academic careers? How can we help students better communicate and collaborate with organizations and individuals outside their field of expertise?

Goals 

These goals are just general recommendations and we empower future GSC Executive Boards to adjust or supplement these goals as the organization, and the environment in which it exists, changes and grows.

Short-Term Goals (next 12 months)

• To secure some type of recurring funding for the Graduate Student Congress, whether that be through SFAC, SGA student fees, or the Provost’s Office, or another source. 

• To have representation from all UK colleges or schools, with an ultimate goal of 65% of individual graduate degree programs or departments.

• To maintain relationships with Central Administration that ensures that the voices of graduate and professional students are being heard and considered.

• To continue improving transparency and record-keeping of all offices and committees, ensuring ease of transition and efficiency of effort. 

• To develop best practices for graduate and professional student organizations (GPSOs) relating to interorganizational communication and collaboration.

• To continue working with UK faculty, staff, and administrators to develop policies and practices to improve the mental health and wellbeing of graduate and professional students. 

• To ensure a graduate or professional student selected by the GSC is involved with at least 75% of identified ad-hoc university committees and panels.

• To complete our third annual Graduate and Professional Student and Postdoc Wellness Survey with at least 50% response and completion rates, as well as summarize the findings of this survey into a comprehensive report.

• To write and disseminate a standardized way for graduate and professional students to seek solutions for their problems, in a way that can protect them from potential faculty repercussions.

• To find ways to hold wide scale mentor accountability and protections for students.

Long-Term Goals (next 3 years)

• To gain control of 100% of graduate and professional student fees.

• To establish legislative and financial autonomy from the SGA and SAB.

• To obtain a permanent, voting seat for a graduate or professional student on the Board of Trustees, Provost’s Council, President’s Council, University Senate, and all University-wide hiring committees.

• To continue ensuring that programs, events, and opportunities supported by the GSC align with the current needs and interests of graduate and professional students.

• To continue expanding professional development programs, initiatives, and funding for graduate and professional students’ career endeavors inside and outside academia. 

• To continue developing programs that enhance the graduate and professional student mentoring experience and help prepare undergraduate students, especially those from underrepresented minority (URM) groups, for graduate school. 

• To expand graduate and professional mental health advocacy efforts, thereby creating an academic environment conducive to good mental health. 

• To continue fostering an atmosphere of interdisciplinarity and intersectionality that welcomes graduate and professional students from all personal and academic backgrounds and traditions.

• To have representation from at least 90% of individual graduate degree programs or departments.

• To create an emergency fund specifically for graduate and professional students facing financial hardship.

• To continue hosting monthly meetings between members of the GSC Executive Board and Central Administration (e.g., President, Vice President, Provost, Vice Provost, Dean of Students, etc.).

• To ensure a graduate or professional student selected by the GSC is involved with 100% of identified ad-hoc university committees and panels.

• To be the nexus for a network of registered Graduate/Professional Student Organizations (GPSOs) for at least 90% of individual graduate degree programs or departments, and have consistent communication between these organizations and the GSC.

• To increase the response and completion rates of our annual Graduate and Professional Student and Postdoc Wellness Survey to at least 85%, as well as begin summarizing progress and changes between these surveys every three (3) to five (5) years.

The 2020 - 2021 Executive Board

Katherine Counts, President

Lauren Fann, Vice President

Amanda Slone, Chief of Staff and Operations

Katie Sharp, Secretary

Shaila Zaman, Treasurer

Srinu Ippili, Institutional Affairs Officer

Ellie Johnson, External Affairs Officer

Madison Sands, Professional Student Affairs Officer

Erome Hankore, Postdoc Affairs Officer

Asia Ellis, SGA Representative

Reratified: 12/03/2020

Ratified: 12/07/2017

Under advisement from the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students and the representatives of the Graduate Student Congress, the Graduate Student Congress at the University of Kentucky is committed to ensuring a more equitable system of governance and is therefore issuing this Statement of Autonomy. We propose a separate autonomous organization with the following:

1. financial and legislative independence by gathering fees and decision-making power that has heretofore went to the Student Government Association (SGA) and Student Activity Board (SAB),

2. representative authority within the University equal to that held by the SGA. 

Graduate students play a number of roles that go beyond the traditional “student.” The University of Kentucky Strategic Plan for 2015-2020 highlights the place of graduate students as professionals and the central goal of the University to support this population by “[s]trengthen[ing] the quality and distinctiveness of our graduate programs to transform our students into accomplished scholars and professionals who contribute to the Commonwealth, the nation, and the world through their research and discovery, creative endeavors, teaching, and service."

• Graduate students are teachers—they may be the instructors of record in undergraduate courses or assist in the classroom by leading laboratories and discussion sessions. 

• Graduate students are researchers—they represent the University of Kentucky by presenting their research at conferences and symposia, through the publication of their own research, and by serving as research assistants to University faculty. 

• Graduate students are active in service roles—they have administrative duties in their service work to departmental organizations and interdisciplinary organizations like the GSC, and at times hold positions as administrators.

Thus, graduate students are never just students, but rather junior professionals tasked with guiding the educational experience of undergraduates. In this way, undergraduate student success is tied directly to graduate student success, and graduate student concerns must be addressed for them to effectively teach, guide, and mentor. Moreover, in order for graduate students to be respected as teachers, it must be clear that graduate instructors are not merely students, and this should be reflected in the organizational structure of the University. Graduate students also demonstrate the intellectual prestige of the University of Kentucky through their work as they research and publish. In order to be successful in these roles, graduate students have unique needs that must be met, including funding for conferences, research trips, and training. Attending to the needs of graduate students at the University of Kentucky benefits the entire system, and it is graduate students who best know their needs. 

We do not believe that the Student Government Association can effectively represent undergraduate and graduate students together when the needs of both are so significant and disparate. In our current system, all graduate student organizations, including the graduate student governing body, are housed under the undergraduate-led Student Government Association (SGA). This body is responsible for allocating all student government funds, representing all students at all major levels in the University, creating student policy and programming, and passing all official student legislation. While there are positions allocated to graduate students on the SGA, the total composition of graduate students on the SGA has been less than four percent, whereas graduate students comprise approximately sixteen percent of the fee-paying student body. Additionally, these positions are not reserved exclusively for graduate students, and most of the seats have been held by professional students who, in addition to these seats, retain their own representation through their professional colleges. Therefore, the claim that the current system has successfully represented all students on the campus of the University of Kentucky is simply inaccurate. 

While the mission of the Student Activities Board (SAB) is to provide students with entertaining, educational, and/or enriching programs reflective of contemporary issues, most of the programming they provide is directed toward undergraduate students. Few activities are directed toward the personal and professional interests of graduate students, and even fewer are family-friendly. More importantly, graduate students are naturally apprehensive about spending leisure and casual time at events where they might encounter student they teach. These events blur the professional line vital for teachers and mentors, so few graduate students attend them. 

Seventy-two percent of our benchmark institutions, more than half of the schools in the SEC, and all Ivy League schools have independent graduate student governing bodies. These schools recognize the inherent limitations of a single organization representing the diverse needs of different types of students, and the ethical and logistical challenges that arise when asking an individual group like the SGA or SAB to perform these tasks. These universities maintain autonomous graduate student organizations with full control over a proportional amount of their Student Government Association fees and Student Activity fees, and as a result, their graduate students have retained equitable representation and judicious allocation of funding. 

Even as an autonomous organization, we remain committed to working with the SGA to create a strong intergovernmental relationship that will work for the good of all students at UK. We believe that working on the issues most pertinent to our respective populations—undergraduate and graduate—will allow all of us to be more effective advocates and leaders for students on campus.

The 2020 - 2021 Executive Board of the Graduate Student Congress

Katherine Counts, President

Lauren Fann, Vice President

Amanda Slone, Chief of Staff and Operations

Katie Sharp, Secretary

Tarannum Shaila Zaman, Treasurer

Ellie Johnson, External Affairs Officer

Srinu Ippili, Institutional Affairs Officer

Madison Sands, Professional Student Affairs Officer

Priyanka Tripathi, Postdoc Affairs Officer

Asia Ellis, SGA Graduate Senator-at-Large

Eugene Boasiako, SGA Graduate Senator-at-Large

Joel Klipfel, President Emeritus

The 2017 - 2018 Executive Board of the Graduate Student Congress

Kalynne Gover, President

Anna Bedsole, Vice President

John Terbot, Secretary

James William Lincoln, Treasurer

Valerie Stevens, Committee Coordinator

Luc Dunoyer, IT Director

Mitchell Richmond, SGA Senator-at-Large

September 2024

October 2024

November 2024

December 2024

Spring 2024 Survey Report

Link to Details