Graduate Council
Graduate Council is the academic governing body of The Graduate School and University Center, and the Bylaws of Graduate Council set forth its rules of governance. Members include representatives of the faculty, doctoral students, and administration. The President of The Graduate Center is the Chair of Graduate Council. The Executive Committee of Graduate Council formulates the agenda and brings actions to Graduate Council, which meets four times each year. Graduate Council is concerned with such matters as curriculum, degree requirements, standards of admission, academic performance, and program governance. Much of the work of Graduate Council is done through its standing committees.
The Graduate Council is composed of Executive Officers, members of the doctoral faculty, and graduate students who are elected to represent the various disciplines. The Graduate Council Bylaws specify who are voting and nonvoting members. Faculty and student representatives are elected from each program (one each for every 100 matriculated doctoral students) each spring under the supervision of an election committee established by the program's Executive Committee in accordance with Section 2.1D of the Bylaws.
Elections of faculty and student program representatives to Graduate Council are required to be conducted annually, before April 1, by an election committee in each program; the basic formula for the election is one faculty and one doctoral student representative for each hundred or fewer matriculated doctoral students (GC Bylaws 2.1A–D). All matriculated doctoral students are eligible to be elected to the Council. Neither faculty members nor doctoral students on leave of absence are eligible to serve. The procedures for electing new faculty and student representatives is as follows: in each program the Executive Committee establishes an election committee consisting of the Executive Officer, three faculty members, and three doctoral student members. This committee has responsibility for nomination and election procedures. Faculty members vote for faculty representatives only; doctoral students vote for student members only.
For information on Graduate Council and its bylaws and committees, contact Patti Myatt at pmyatt@gc.cuny.edu. The Graduate Council meetings for 2012-2013 are at 3:00 pm (reception at 2:30 pm) as follows:
• Monday, October 22
• Wednesday, December 12
• Wednesday, March 6
• Wednesday, May 8
Committees
The following are 2012-2013 memberships of Graduate Council (asterisked) and some other Graduate Center committees. See also the committee of the Provost's Office: Academic Review Committee.
Committee on Committees (Bylaws, Section 3.2D)
Solicits nominations from the faculty and doctoral students of The Graduate Center for faculty and student candidates for the committees of Graduate Council, to prepare a slate of faculty and student candidates from these nominations, and to prepare a list of alternates to fill such vacancies as may arise on these committees.
Supervises the counting of ballots in committee elections.
Provides a continuing review of the system of preferential voting, and alternatives to such a system when deemed to be warranted.
2012-2013 Members:
Prof. Stefan Baumrin, Philosophy
Prof. Andrei Jitianu, Chemistry
Prof. Gertrud Lenzer, Sociology
Prof. Bryan Turner, Sociology
Prof. Polly Thistlethwaite, Acting Chief Librarian, ex-officio
Ms. Natascia Beori, Sociology
Ms. Anne Donlon, English
Mr. Eero Laine, Theatre
Mr. Zachary McGuirk, Mathematics
Committee on Curriculum and Degree Requirements (Bylaws, Section 3.2B)
Considers general educational policy concerning curriculum and the review and reevaluation of graduate programs of The Graduate Center.
Makes recommendations to Graduate Council concerning Graduate Center courses, programs, and curricula leading to a graduate degree or certificate. This responsibility includes recommendations about the addition and withdrawal of programs and courses and changes in titles, descriptions, and prerequisites for courses.
Reviews standards and requirements for doctoral degrees to be granted by the University and for degrees granted by the University in nondoctoral graduate programs of The Graduate Center.
Recommends standards of admission to the graduate programs of The Graduate Center.
Recommends standards of retention and matriculation for the graduate degree programs of The Graduate Center.
Recommends standards for defining "full-time students" and "residence," and for the granting of leaves of absence to students, as well as for setting maximum periods for the earning of the doctoral degree and for degrees granted in other graduate programs of The Graduate Center.
Designates curricular items on the Graduate Council agenda as major or minor items.
Considers appeals submitted by faculty and doctoral students regarding any program's policy, practice, and procedures where such appeals pertain to the program's curriculum and academic policy.
2012-2013 Members:
Prof. Steven Kruger, English
Prof. Maureen O' Connor, Psychology
Prof. Anthony Picciano, Urban Education
Prof. Varathur Reddy, Chemistry
Prof. Joe Rollins, Political Science
Associate Provost Louise Lennihan, ex-officio
Ms. Jill Belli, English
Ms. Cathy Borck, Sociology
Ms. Reena Rahi, Chemistry
Committee on Research (Bylaws, Section 3.2C)
Recommends policy affecting research undertaken under the aegis of The Graduate Center or involving the commitment of its resources for such research.
2012-2013 Members:
Prof. Louis D'Alotto, Computer Science
Prof. Ofelia Garcia, Urban Education
Prof. Mande Holford, Chemistry
Prof. Katherine Manthorne, Art History
Dr. Edith Gonzalez de Scollard, Director of Sponsored Research, ex-officio
Ms. Amy Martin, French
Ms. Christina Nadler, Sociology
Mr. Ben Miller, English
Committee on Structure (Bylaws, Section 3.2A)
Reviews on a continuing basis the structure and operation of the Graduate Council Bylaws and the governance of each of the degree and other Graduate Center educational programs.
Considers the organization of the University for work leading to the doctoral degree and degrees granted in other graduate programs of The Graduate Center.
Considers any appeals submitted by faculty and/or doctoral students regarding any program's policy, practice, and procedures where such appeals pertain to the program's governance or its operation.
Reviews on a continuing basis doctoral student participation in governance.
2012-2013 Members:
Prof. Marilyn Aguierre-Molina, Public Health
Prof. Jean Anyon, Urban Educaiton
Prof. Iakovos Vasiliou, Philosophy
Prof. Barbara Weinstein, Audiology
Ms. Stefanie Jones, Theatre
Mr. Jared Simard, Classics
Ms. Patricia Stapleton, Political Science
Committee on Student Services (Bylaws, Section 3.2E)
Considers and makes recommendations on such matters as student employment, housing, food services, health services, recreational facilities, and other similar services.
Reviews and recommends policy and standards concerning financial aid to doctoral students.
Reviews and recommends policy for registration and payment of tuition and fees.
2012-2013 Members:
Prof. Daisuke Akiba, Educational Psychology
Prof. Shu-Yuan Cheng, Biochemistry
Prof. Stephen Neale, Philosophy
Prof. Stacey Plichta, Public Health
Mr. Jonathan Blaize, Biology
Mr. Eero Laine, Theatre
Mr. Jared Simard, Classics
Graduate Council Executive Committee (Bylaws, Section 2.3D)
The Executive Committee of the Council shall be composed of the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary of the Council, Chair of the Committee on Curriculum and Degree Requirements, Chair of the Committee on Structure, Chair of the Doctoral Faculty Policy Committee, one Co-Chair of the Doctoral Students' Council, a Faculty Senator elected by and from among the Graduate Center Senators elected to the University Faculty Senate, a Student Senator elected by and from among the Graduate Center Senators to the University Student Senate, and the Provost (nonvoting) or the Provost's designee.
The Executive Committee of Graduate Council shall be responsible for formulating the agenda and bringing resolutions, issues, and actions to Council for its consideration.
2012-2013 Members:
Prof. Martin Burke, History, Chair
Prof. Gerald Creed, Anthropology, Vice Chair
Prof. Polly Thistlethwaite, Secretary
Prof. Joe Rollins, Political Science, Chair, Committee on Curriculum and Degree Requirements
Barbara Weinstein, Audiology, Chair, Committee on Structure
Mark Hauber, Representative from the Doctoral Faculty Policy Committee
Christine Nadler, Co-Chair DSC
Prof. Stefan Baumrin, University Faculty Senate
Provost Chase F. Robinson, ex-officio
Information Technology Committee (Bylaws, Section 3.2H)
Considers recommendations from The Graduate Center community related to information technology.
Reviews the policies and practices of the Office of Information Technology.
Communicates these recommendations to the administrative officer responsible for information technology.
Recommends policies related to information technology.
2012-2013 Members:
Prof. Ted Brown, Computer Science
Prof. Candido Cabo, Computer Science
Prof. Jay Verkuilen, Educational Psychology
Prof. Ashok Vora, Business
Vice President Robert Campbell, ex-officio
Ms. Margaret Galvan, English
Ms. Valia Mitsou, Computer Science
Ms. Patricia Stapleton, Political Science
Library Committee (Bylaws, Section 3.2G)
Recommends policies for developing library resources for instruction and research.
Recommends policy for operating the Library.
2012-2013 Members:
Prof. Phil Barnett, Chemistry
Prof. Martin Burke, History
Prorf Judith Milhous, Theatre
Prof. Domna Stanton, French
Prof. Polly Thistlethwaite, Acting Chief Librarian, ex-officio
Ms. Reethee Antony, Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences
Mr. Michael Bush, Political Science
Mr. Marcos Wasem, Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures and Languages
Student Academic Appeals Committee (Bylaws, Section 3.2F)
Considers and makes recommendations to the Office of the Provost concerning student academic appeals that proceed beyond the level of the degree program, including appeals of grades and termination as outlined in the Graduate Center Student Handbook.
Membership consists of nine members of the doctoral faculty: three each from the sciences and engineering, social sciences, and humanities. Terms of service on the committee are three years staggered.
2012-2013 Members:
Humanities
Prof. Stefan Baumrin, Philosophy, 2010-2013
Prof. Martin Burke, History, 2012-2015
Prof. Duncan Faherty, English, 2011-2014
Social Sciences
Prof. Stanley Aronowitz, Sociology, 2012-2015
Prof. Joseph Glick, Psychology, 2011-2014
Prof. Anthony Lemelle, Sociology, 2012-2015
Sciences
Prof. Anuradhi Janakiraman, Biology, 2012-2015
Prof. Yehuda Klein, EES, 2011-2014
Prof. Robert Thompson, Mathematics, 2010-2013