Service and Participation Opportunities

The graduate representative acts as a liaison between the geography graduate students and the departmental administration. The graduate representative can bring student concerns and ideas to the department chair, the graduate chair, or the geography faculty, as appropriate, and communicate information, opportunities, and concerns from the department chair, graduate chair, or geography faculty to geography graduate students. Nominations, including self-nominations, are accepted by the graduate chair, who supervises the election near the end of spring semester for the subsequent year, thus the position is typically held by a second-year student. If only one person expresses interest in the position, they are considered elected by consensus. The representative assists with the departmental orientation day for fall semester and may communicate over summer with incoming students. The representative can help coordinate information on graduate student travel plans to conferences (e.g., the AAG) and convey travel and research funding opportunities, policies, and procedures to students. Other tasks might include helping to organize graduate student interaction with visiting or prospective faculty and prospective graduate students, preparation for colloquia, and serving as geography’s alternate representative to the Graduate Student Senate.

Early in fall semester, geography graduate students elect their representative to the Graduate Student Senate (GSS). The election process is overseen by the graduate chair who solicits nominations for the position, including self-nominations. If only one graduate student expresses interest in the position they are considered elected by consensus. The GSS representative participates in GSS meetings, communicates information, opportunities, and concerns of the GSS to the geography graduate students, and those of the geography graduate students to GSS.

The colloquium committee arranges for guest speakers to come to the department and present a geographically relevant aspect of their research. The committee helps host the speakers, advertises the colloquia to other interested departments, and considers possible speakers for the future. A volunteer for this position is sought early in the fall semester, with preference to a first-year student.

This individual makes suggestions to the department’s media and communications committee for the graduate content of the department’s webpage, helps keep the department’s Facebook page and social media presence up-to-date, and helps generate ideas, photos, and text regarding current graduate students for ou r annual departmental newsletter, the Geogram, which typically appears in winter. Volunteers for this position are sought early in fall semester, although suggestions by any of our students are always appreciated.

The department currently has three active student associations, the Geography Club, the OU Chapter of the American Meteorology Society (OUCAMS), and the OU Chapter of Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU), which is an international geography honor society. Participation in the Geography Club is open to anyone at OU who is interested in geography. Membership in OUCAMS is open to undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in meteorology or climatology. As an honor society, GTU has specific academic requiremen ts for membership, with new members inducted each spring. The Geography Club and GTU meet together because they share the same service and activity goals. The Geography Club/GTU and OUCAMS each have regularly scheduled weekly meetings during the fall and spring semesters, and occasionally have joint meetings or activities. Graduate students are welcome and encouraged to participate in these associations.