RGSA Overview
The goals of the RGSA are: to promote the interests and welfare of RSENR graduate students; to serve as a commons for all RSENR graduate students to provide input on RSENR policy, curriculum, and operation; to serve as a conduit of information relevant to graduate education in RSENR and UVM; to promote an intellectual and social community of graduate education; and to sponsor opportunities for academic and professional development among its members.
View the RGSA Constitution (PDF)
From the RSENR graduate student body, five officers will be elected each spring to serve on the Executive Committee for the following academic year. The Executive Committee will hold graduate student body-wide meetings at least once per semester, and regular meetings of the Executive Committee are open to all Rubenstein School graduate students as well.
Other duties of the Executive Committee include maintaining graduate student facilities in the Aiken Center, including computers and printers.
RGSA Graduate Peer Mentorship Program
The Graduate Peer Mentorship Program seeks to pair each new graduate student (a mentee) with a seasoned graduate student (a mentor) based on research interests, social-cultural or geographic backgrounds, and other shared lived experiences. Mentorship by/with a fellow peer not only equips students with critical tips and tricks for navigating their first year of graduate school. It also fosters a richer sense of place and belonging as student scholars — both mentors and mentees — connect with at least one new face of their community! Second-semester students are welcome to mentor if they feel comfortable, or they can sign up to be a mentee themselves.
Calling all RSENR graduate students! SIGN UP to be a Graduate Peer Mentor (returning students) or Graduate Peer Mentee (incoming students) for the 2023-24 academic year!
RGSA Events
In close collaboration with the RSENR Graduate Coordinator, the RGSA Executive Committee coordinates events year-round to cultivate graduate community, inclusion, and wellness across the Rubenstein School. This service includes graduate professional development, such as seminars, workshops, and panels, as well as graduate community socials, such as weekly tea time, monthly bagel breakfasts, community field trips, potlucks, and meetups.
RGSA Calendar: SPRING 2024
Please check back throughout the year as our calendar is updated regularly!
EVENT | DATE | TIME | LOCATION | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tea Time | Wednesdays (weekly) | 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. | RSENR Grad Lounge (Aiken 308) | During this weekly social hour just for grad students, peers connect over tea, coffee, snacks, rest, and community. Meeting time shifts each semester based on results of community poll. |
Bagel BreakfastBONUS! Stick around from 9 - 10 a.m. for RSENR Research Chats, a new mini-seminar series and Q&A with faculty! | Final Thursdays:Jan 23, 2024 | 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. | Aiken 311 | Gather with RSENR graduate students, staff, and faculty for a FREE community breakfast of bagels and fruit. Swing by for a bite en route to classes and labs, or stay for the extra nourishment of relationship-building and networking. |
Chili Cook-Off | Tuesday, January 30, 2024 | Feasting at 4:30 p.m., Chili Cook-Off Champion Awards at 5:30 p.m. | Aiken Solarium | Chilly weather means chili weather! Bring the heat (or a spoon) to a winter potluck mixer with Rubenstein graduate students, staff, and faculty, including both NEW and returning members of our graduate community. |
Graduate Student Union Election | Tuesday, March 26 - Wednesday March 27, 2024 | 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. both days | Chikago lounge (205A) on the Second floor of the UVM Davis Center. Directly across from the Marketplace and Broccoli Bar. | All graduate student workers with academic appointments are strongly encouraged to exercise their right to vote. Visit the Graduate Student Union’s FAQ to learn more. This is an anonymous, official election conducted by the Vermont Labor Relations Board. |
Community Field Trip: Mount Philo Hike [POSTPONED DUE TO SOLAR ECLIPSE] | Sunday, April 7, 2024 | 1 p.m. | Mt Philo State Park, Charlotte, VT | Join our community of RSENR graduate students, staff, and faculty for a Mt. Philo Summit Hike and Social! Immerse in graduate community on one of Vermont’s most beloved trails, and bask in breathtaking views of the Lake Champlain Valley, Green Mountains, and Adirondack Mountains. Partners, families, and friends welcome. No hiking experience needed — we will set a slow space on a 2-mile, family-friendly trail loop great for hikers of all levels! RSVP. |
Virtual Social Field Safety Workshop with Field Inclusive | Wednesday, April 10, 2024 | 1 - 3 p.m. | Zoom, link provided upon registration | Join graduate students, staff, and faculty for a FREE online professional development workshop with Field Inclusive, a nonprofit dedicated to making outdoor fieldwork safer for all – particularly marginalized and historically excluded individuals who work and/or conduct research professionally outdoors. Throughout two hours of highly informational, interactive activities, participants will learn about critical issues of social field safety and co-create tangible, actionable solutions for our own labs, fields, and communities. Register here by April 3.BONUS! This workshop earns up to 1.5 CEUs in Category I of the Certified Wildlife Biologist® Professional Development Certificate Program. |
RGSA Town Hall (April Bagel Breakfast) | Thursday, April 25, 2024 | 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. | Aiken 103 and Teams | During the RGSA’s April Bagel Breakfast, convene in a Town Hall to discuss and co-create change in three critical areas: the RGSA DEI Statement, Amendments to the RGSA Constitution, and the RSENR Graduate Handbook. Free bagels and breakfast provided. |
Solarium Seminar: Toni Lyn Morelli, “Democratizing Science: Translational Ecology, Participatory Monitoring, and Inclusivity to Address Global Change" | Thursday, May 2, 2024 | 4pm - 5pm | Aiken Solarium | Toni Lyn Morelli, USGS Research Ecologist at the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, will be talking about the latest insights into how to coproduce actionable science, how to create a more inclusive academic space, and the ways in which science is becoming more democratic. |
Spring Ephemerals Walk | Saturday, May 4th, 2024 | 11am - 1:30pm | The Waterworks Property Lands of the Watershed Center, Bristol, VT | Come explore spring wildflowers in the limestone-enriched forest communities of the Waterworks Property in Bristol! We’ll see spring beauties, trout lilies, and Dutchman’s breeches to name a few. This walk will take place before leaf-out, so we’ll also keep our eyes out for migrating spring birds. Wear hiking boots and keep your fingers crossed for sunny weather. Specific date and time will be provided as the spring progresses. |
RGSA Calendar: FALL 2023
| EVENT | DATE | TIME | LOCATION | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tea Time | Wednesdays (weekly) | 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. | RSENR Grad Lounge (Aiken 308) | During this weekly social hour just for grad students, peers connect over tea, coffee, snacks, rest, and community. Meeting time shifts each semester based on results of community poll. |
Bagel BreakfastBONUS! Stick around from 9 - 10 a.m. for RSENR Research Chats, a new mini-seminar series and Q&A with faculty! | Final Thursdays: Sep 28, 2023 | 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. | Aiken 311 | Gather with RSENR graduate students, staff, and faculty for a FREE community breakfast of bagels and fruit. Swing by for a bite en route to classes and labs, or stay for the extra nourishment of relationship-building and networking. |
Welcome (Back) RGSA Pizza Picnic | Friday, August 25, 2023 | 5 - 7 p.m. | Leddy Beach, Burlington, VT | Join new and returning graduate peers for free pizza and community! |
RGSA Community Field Trip: Shelburne Farms | Sunday, October 8, 2023 | 1 - 3 p.m. | Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, VT | Join the RGSA for a ~3-mile scenic stroll around Shelburne Farms! Enjoy the adorable farm animals, flower gardens, solar orchard, and breathtaking walking trails (just in time for fall foliage)! |
RGSA Community Field Trip: Apple-Picking | Sunday, October 22, 2023 | 1 - 4 p.m. | Yates Family Orchard, Hinesburg, VT | Join the RGSA for a community field trip to Yates Family Orchard! Pick your own apples at a family-owned orchard in Monkton Ridge, bask in the rolling views of the Adirondacks and Bristol Valley, and enjoy farm-fresh treats like hot apple cider and donuts. Free transportation in UVM vans. |
Solarium Seminar: Mohit Chhabra, “Rethinking Electricity Prices for Equitable Decarbonization" | Thursday, October 26, 2023 | 4 - 5 p.m. | Aiken Solarium | All RSENR graduate students, faculty, and students are invited to a special seminar with Mohit Chhabra, Technical Lead and Advisor of the Climate & Clean Energy Program with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Catered snacks provided. |
Paint ‘n’ Sip Botanical Dot Painting Workshop with Juniper Creative Arts | Sunday, December 3 | 2 - 4 p.m. | Aiken Solarium | In creative community with fellow graduate students and Juniper Creative Arts Collective, explore interconnections between art and science, immerse in ethnobotanical storytelling, learn the art of pointillism, and sip herbal tea inspired by the afternoon’s muse. . Each participant will paint their own 4” round magnet inspired by a wondrous “weed” and teacher of radical resilience and joy: the dandelion! |