GSS places representatives on numerous university-wide governance boards, including the Board of Trustees and Faculty Senate Committees. We also establish committees internally to allow groups of senators to focus their attention and action on specific issues that concern graduate students, such as the Housing Committee, Student Assistantship Support Committee, and many others
Graduate Student Senate Committees
Finance Committee
Oversees the finances of GSS and processes applications for Graduate College Conference Grants. Comprised of the GSS Treasurer and two senators. Members: Vighnesh Pai (Chair)
Student Affairs Committee
Responsible for documenting and providing guidance for grievances and concerns affecting graduate students that are submitted to the Graduate Student Senate.
Housing Committee
To advocate for reliable, affordable, and family-friendly housing that meets the needs of graduate students and aligns with the needs of the greater Burlington community.
Events Committee
Promotes networking and organizes events for the graduate student community.
Professional Development Committee
Organizes research and professional development workshops for graduate students.
Board of Trustees Committees
Audit Committee
Responsible for monitoring the quality and integrity of the University’s financial statements.
Graduate Student Representative: Vanessa Ballard
Budget, Finance, & Investment Committee
Oversees the development and review of strategic institutional financial plans and objectives as well as the formation and approval of UVM's budget.
Graduate Student Representatives: Dan Peipert and Goodness Rex Nze-Igwe
Educational Policy & Institutional Resources Committee
Oversees the development and status of programmatic and resource use plans and related plan objectives.
Graduate Student Representatives: Cara Simone and Masoumeh Khodaverdi
Faculty Senate Committees
Curricular Affairs Committee
Responsible for long-range planning of majors, minors, and other academic standards for undergraduate and graduate students.
Educational & Research Technologies Committee
Responsible for the development and implementation of educational and research technologies and the review of related policies and procedures.
Financial & Physical Planning Committee
Responsible for physical resources for the institution and issues related to the formulation of the University Budget.
Research, Scholarship & Creative Arts Committee
Responsible for research, scholarly work, and the creative arts at the University. Serves as a liaison between the Faculty Senate and the administration of support of research and the creative arts and advancing knowledge and communication.
Student Affairs Committee
Responsible for issues related to student affairs, effects on the educational process, and academic climate of the University.
Administrative Committees
Our Common Ground Committee
Recommends members of the UVM community to the President for Our Common Ground Award.
Traffic Board of Appeals
Reviews appeals from students, faculty, staff, and visitors who have received parking tickets and/or have been towed for violations of the UVM parking rules and regulations.
Campus Master Plan Advisory Committee
Advises the university administration in developing a Campus Master Plan that provides a flexible framework that can accommodate changes in attitudes about campus environments, new technologies and revised institutional requirements.
UVM Transportation & Parking Services Advisory Committee (TAPSAC)
Responsible for the management of both the Campus Area Transportation System (CATS) and the University parking programs.
Socially Responsible Investing Advisory Council
Makes recommendations to the Vice President for Finance and Treasurer on sustainability investment at the University of Vermont, including positive investments of operating cash reserves and the Clean Energy Fund.
Student Research Conference Committee
Organizes the annual spring Student Research Conference that showcases graduate and undergraduate research.
Student Trustee Search Committee
Responsible for selecting a student representative (undergraduate, graduate, or medical) to sit on the Board of Trustees. The selected Student Trustee is a full voting member of the Board.
Executive Committee
Between the meetings of the Board of Trustee, this committee shall have all the powers of the board in management of the property and affairs of the University.
IBB Steering Committee
UVM's Incentive-Based Budgeting (IBB) model went live in FY16. The IBB Steering Committee continues to meet to assess the model’s performance and impact. Metrics associated with the model are reviewed annually. The next major review of the model will occur in FY24, with the implementation of IBB Model 3.0 in FY25.
Honorary Degree Advisory Committee
Has the responsibility of selecting the honorary degree recipient for that year’s commencement.
Graduate Student Senate Executive Council Elections
Get involved, make a difference.
The call for the 2024-2025 Graduate Student Executive Council is now open!
A full description of all GSS Executive Council members' responsibilities and individual position responsibilities can be found in Article III of the GSS Constitution (PDF).