GSA Constitution

Constitution of the Graduate Student Association
(click to download) 

Mission Statement

The principle purpose of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) is two fold:

·        To be channels of student concerns through voicing advice to the Vice President of Student Life and the Academic Vice President on matters of graduate education and life as a graduate student

·         to suggest, conduce, and implement various means aimed at the improvement of graduate education and graduate student life at Gonzaga University.

 Article I.  Membership andTerm of Office

1.1 Deans of the School of Business and the School of Education, and the program chairs from MOL/COML, Nursing, the Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies, Religious Studies, Philosophy, and MA-TESL will appoint a representative from each graduate program who will have voting privileges.

1.2. The GSBA graduate student senators will also serve on the GSA council with voting privileges. They may also represent their program.

1.3. The graduate student Trustee, appointed by the President of Gonzaga University, will serve on the council as a voting member.

1.4. Both the Student Life Vice President and the Academic Vice President will appoint an advisor for the GSA. The advisors will not have voting privileges.

1.5. Ideally, GSA members will serve a 1-2 year commitment. If for any reason, a GSA member is unable to continue on GSA, the member will be responsible for orienting their replacement to membership on GSA.

1.6. All registered Gonzaga University graduate students are both welcomed and encouraged to attend GSA meetings and offer opinions.

Article II.  Officers

2.1. The Chair will be selected by the voting members of the GSA. Duties of the Chair in collaboration with the advisors are:

·        to schedule meetings
·        coordinate orientation planning for graduate students
·        to manage communication among members of the GSA
·        to facilitate agenda planning

2.2. The Secretary will be selected by the voting members of the GSA. Duties of the secretary in collaboration with the Chair are:

·        to keep records of GSA activities
·        to take, write, and distribute meeting minutes
·        to provide pertinent handouts to GSA members at meetings

2.3. The Treasurer will be selected by the voting members of the GSA. Duties of the treasurer in collaboration with the Chair are:

·        to organize the yearly budget with the president and student life advisor and have it ready for approval at the GSA meeting in   June
·        to maintain ongoing accounting files as necessary
·        to present a budget update report at each of the meetings
·        to manage approval and distribution of funds to the programs

2.4. Each appointed GSA representative shall have the power of his or her vote on all matters that come before the council for approval.

2.5. Currently, all members of the council share government of the council equally. Future GSA council members may elect to delegate positions or restructure government of the council in whatever way best serves the needs of GSA and the representation of graduate students.

Article III.  Meetings

3.1. The GSA will convene at least one meeting per month from May through July and September through April.

3.1.1. Each meeting will be approximately one hour in length.

3.1.2. The Chair, in collaboration with the advisors, will notify all members of the GSA of the first scheduled meeting.

3.2.At the initial meeting of the year, the graduate student representatives will

·        suggest agenda items for the upcoming year
·        set a time, date, and location for monthly meetings
·        review the proposed budget

3.3. Reports from the GSBA senators, the academic representative, the graduate student trustee, and the two advisors will be included in each agrenda.

3.4. Approval of any and all decisions must be by a 2/3 vote from the GSA council.

3.5. In April, the GSA will have a final distribution of remaining funds including a resubmission of previous requests

Article IV. Purpose and Distribution of Funds

4.1. The purpose of GSA funds is to enrich the experience of as many graduate students as possible.

4.2. Requests for GSA funds must meet the outlined criteria, be approved by a 2/3 vote, and signed off by the Chair and the student activities advisor.

4.2.1. There are two funding request forms:

4.2.1.1 GSA Budget Request Form by which programs can request funding for on-campus conferences, orientations, year-end events, and other occasions impacting student life

4.2.1.2. GSA Conference Form by which individual students presenting a paper at a conference can receive reimbursement for conference expenses

4.2.2. Forms for requesting funds are available online on the Gonzaga University web site for the GSA or in the Office of Student Activities. They should also be distributed to each of the graduate program offices by the program representative after the May meeting.

Article V. GSA Collaboration with other Student Bodies

5. 1. GSA will collaborate on common projects and problems with the Gonzaga Student Body Association (GSBA).

5.2. In order to ensure a mutually positive relationship, it is suggested that joint meetings be held two times per semester between the GSBA Cabinet and the GSA President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The purpose of these meetings is threefold:

·        to exchange information regarding graduate and undergraduate activities that may be of interest to the other.
·        to exchange information and plan activities that may interest both graduate and undergraduate populations.
·        to ensure that campus-wide events are inclusive for graduate students.