GPSO E-Newsletter: June 2014

In this Issue:

From the President's Desk

Meet the 2014-2015 Executive Committee

Get Involved!

Available Assistantship

Fourth of July Festivities in Bloomington!

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From the President's Desk

I hope you are all having a relaxing and productive summer. While it is fairly quiet on the student front in Bloomington over the summer, please note these updates and let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions for the coming academic year.

• GPSO is forming a small task force to advocate for fossil fuel divestment of the IU Foundation endowment. Members will be selected based on their experience and academic background; this task force will be very active in the fall and, thereby, selective. Please send statements of interest to Andrew Bredeson at gpsosus@indiana.edu.
  
• In August, GPSO will be moving headquarters from the GradHouse to the first floor of Kirkwood Hall. This will be our temporary home for a couple years, but there will be some lounge space available to graduate students during office hours.

For more information, please contact Brady Harman, GPSO President.

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Meet the 2014-2015 ExComm

President: Brady Harman, Law & Public Affairs

Vice President: Justin Vasel, Physics

Treasurer: Zach Bailey, Policy Analysis

Liaison: Julianna Gjonaj, Law

Parlimentarian: Skyler Hutto, Law

Awards Officer: Josh de Leeuw, Cognitive Science & Psychology

Benefits Officer: Benjamin Draper, Chemistry

Sustainability Officer: Andrew Bredeson, Policy Analysis

Communications Coordinator: Jessie Mroz, Policy Analysis & Environmental Science

Community Development Coordinator: Julian Glover, Nonprofit Management

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Get Involved!

Looking for a way to effect positive change for graduate and professional students on the IU-Bloomingon campus? The Graduate and Professional Student Organization serves over 8000 graduate and professional students by providing academic support, community, advocacy, and graduate resources. There are a number of ways to get involved:

• Assembly Representatives:

The GPSO Assembly represents the entire Indiana University Bloomington graduate student population. The number of voting seats given to each department or program is determined by the level of enrollment during a bi-annual audit. Each department or program chooses how to elect or appoint their own GPSO representative(s).

• Committees: To join a committee, contact gpso or the committee chair in the fall and join us for General Assembly. More detailed information about each committee can be found on our website.

  Awards Committee: Members of the Awards Committee are responsible for reviewing applications for the GPSO Travel and Research Awards. The Travel Award is given in both the Fall and Spring semesters, and the Research Award is given in the Spring semester of each year.

  Benefits Committee: The Benefits Committee works closely with our Benefits Officer to craft legislation regarding student health insurance and benefits for both mandatory and voluntary plans.

  Diversity Committee: The Diversity Committee works closely with our GPSO Liaison to craft legislation and support diversity initiatives and organizations on the IU campus.

  Programming Committee: The programming committee is responsible for reviewing past programs, social hours, and events as well as developing future events. Programming is integral for community building and offering resources to graduate and professional students.

  Student Affairs Committee: Created by the GPSO Executive Committee in August 2013 to tackle matters of importance to the graduate and professional students on the IUB Campus. As an ad-hoc committee, its existence is premised on the existence of a legitimate need, in this case improving the student experience for graduate and professional students. SA’s focus will be on advocating for improvements to student life, as well as on improving the internal structure of the GPSO, so that it can better represent its constituents.

  Sustainability Committee: The Sustainability Committee and its members are responsible for environmental or sustainability related issues concerning or effecting graduate students on campus, as well as representing the interests and concerns of graduate students on several councils. The committee is open to anyone who is a representative, or any graduate or professional student that is passionate about sustainability issues.

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Available Assistantship

Faculty Secretary, Department of French & Italian

Description:
Serve as faculty secretary for an academic department, responsible for purchasing, textbook orders, faculty travel reimbursements, monthly account statement verification, and administration of the departmental e mail account. Also assist with electronic financial documents, faculty hiring, and preparation of tenure and promotion dossiers. Other clerical duties and special projects as assigned.

Qualifications:
Looking for a responsible individual who is a team player. Must be a graduate student enrolled in the College of Arts & Sciences at IU-Bloomington for a minimum of 6 credit hours per semester.
Required qualifications: Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Access; excellent typing and proofreading skills; strong communication skills; ability to organize and perform multiple tasks efficiently.
Preferred qualifications: Commitment to serve for more than one year, familiarity with Indiana University administrative procedures.

Hours:
15 hours per week, regular daily schedule preferred. 37.5% FTE. Vacations according to student academic year schedule, except for the summer, when a two-week vacation will be arranged at a mutually agreeable time. Summer work is required.

Compensation:
Stipend is $15,750 for 12 months. Fee remission for the spring and fall semesters granted to College of Arts and Sciences graduate students only. Health insurance included.

Start Date:
The position start date is July 28, 2014. There will be a few days of overlap with the incumbent in the position for training purposes. We will consider a later start date if necessary to hire the best candidate.

Application:
Application should include a specific cover letter explaining your interest in and qualifications for the position, and a copy of your résumé. Submit applications either in hard copy or via e-mail to Isabel Piedmont-Smith, Department of French & Italian, Ballantine Hall 642, 1020 E. Kirkwood Ave., Bloomington, IN 47405-7103, ipiedmon@indiana.edu.

Deadline:
We will begin to consider applications on June 9 and continue until July 1. No applications accepted after July 1, 2014.

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4th of July Festivities in Bloomington!

Weekend at Monroe Lake, July 3-6

$5/vehicle (Indiana residents); $7/vehicle (out-of-state residents)

Monroe Lake's interpretive staff will offer 20 programs and activities for kids and families over the 4-day holiday weekend! Everything takes place at the Paynetown State Recreation Area. Check out all the times, details, and activity descriptions on the July Program Schedule.

Bloomington 4th of July Parade & Concert, July 4

9 am – Community Band

10 am – Parade starts

11:15 am – Awards announced

This year's Fourth of July Parade takes place Friday, July 4. The Parade is hosted by Bloomington Parks and Recreation and Downtown Bloomington, Inc.

Independence Day Fireworks, July 5

Monroe County Fairgrounds

Enjoy the All-American tradition of watching fireworks light up the sky in celebration of Independence Day! The gates to the fairgrounds will open at 3 pm, with live music (starting at 5 pm) and food vendors on site to help celebrate. The gates will close at 9:30 pm, so make sure to arrive early. The fireworks display will start at roughly 9:45 pm and last approximately 25-30 minutes. No admission is charged, but donations are encouraged to help support the funding of the show.

Nothing look good to you?

Check out the ongoing exhibits and events featured in the sidebar or visit www.bloomingtonscene.com and www.visitbloomington.com for the full on- and off-campus scoop.

Have an event to promote?

Email me at gpso@indiana.edu, and I can help you spread the e-word to our fellow grad students.

Go have some fun!

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