Psychology Graduate Representative Council

The Graduate Representative Council provides graduate student representation at all Psychology Department faculty meetings and committees concerning department policy and planning, curriculum, scholarships, admissions, and clinical internships. Members also assist faculty with reviewing student grant applications, and representing the department at the Graduate Student Senate.

In addition to the work members of the GRC perform within the department and the University, members also serve as student representatives for the Ohio Psychological Association of Graduate Students (OPAGS) and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS).

The GRC meets monthly during the academic year to discuss the proceedings of each member?s respective committees and address concerns raised by fellow graduate students. GRC members are elected annually, near the end of the spring term.

Contact Us

For more information about the GRC and how to be involved, please contact:

• The current GRC President (2023-2024): Abigail Bartlett, as283320@ohio.edu
• Or the current GRC Vice President (2023-2024): Jessica C. Lang, jl692619@ohio.edu

Bylaws

Article I. PURPOSE

The Graduate Student Representative Council (hereafter “GRC”) was established in the spring semester of the 2001-2002 school year through agreement between the faculty and the graduate students in the Department of Psychology at Ohio University. The GRC was thus created to subsume the graduate student representative roles on faculty committees and to focus on improving communication links between the administration, faculty, and students. The GRC is made up of graduate students elected (hereafter “members”) by the existing graduate students (hereafter “students”) within the department of psychology. Beyond responsibilities to serve as a voice of the students and act as a conduit between the faculty and the students, the GRC serves to help resolve issues raised among students and advocate on behalf of the students to ensure the student experience is marked by equal treatment, respect, and dignity.

Article II. MEMBERSHIP

Section 1 – Rules of the Election:

2.1.1. One month prior to the date of the election, the GRC President shall circulate to all students a call for nominations of eligible students to serve on the GRC using the listserv inclusive of all students in the department of psychology. All students who are enrolled for the following academic term are eligible to serve.

Students are permitted to list their own name if they wish to have their name on the ballot. The ballot will include the opportunity for write-in candidates during the election.
The GRC President (see Article II; Section 2) will then draw up a ballot listing all the names for consideration. The GRC President (and/or vice president) will make provisions so that a secret ballot can take place (i.e., online survey or paper surveys).

2.1.2. The students will be made aware of the deadline for elections through electronic notification. Students will be reminded of the position descriptions, the requirements for the positions, and will be encouraged to vote.

2.1.3. The GRC President (and/or Vice President) shall count the votes and the student that holds a plurality of the votes cast for their desired position will be appointed as a member. In the event of a tie for a position, a new ballot shall be taken until a plurality is achieved. In the event that no student is elected or in the event that a write-in candidate is not willing to serve, the GRC president will canvas those elected for other positions in search of a volunteer to serve more than one role on the GRC. The GRC president may also canvas the student body to fill a position. If no member is willing, the vacant positions will be covered by the GRC President and/or the GRC Vice President as they may decide.

2.1.4. The GRC President shall also prepare a list of alternates in order of descending number of votes. The GRC President shall maintain the list, and shall appoint the highest-ranked alternate in the event of a vacancy. Vacancies may occur due to events including but not limited to: resignation, removal, incapacitation, or ceasing to be a student. An alternate, or interim member, shall serve until the original term is completed, unless the absent member has signified a date at which they will be able to resume their duties (see also Article V regarding removal from GRC). The president may call a special election using the election process outlined in section 2.1.1. in order to fill the position in question if such is deemed necessary for the functioning of the GRC.

2.1.5. Each member shall be elected for a one year term. Elections will be held between March-April of the preceding year conducted via secret ballot.

2.1.6. The member will serve their term during the following academic term beginning in May and ending in April.

Section 2 – Membership Designations:

2.2.1 In addition to the general duties of representing the students each member will be elected to serve in specific positions. Each member position, brief requirements of the position (i.e., “experimental” indicates the member must be within the experimental section of the department, and “clinical” indicates the member must be within the clinical section of the department), the description of the general role and obligations are stated below. All members should contact the faculty member that is in charge of their committee before the beginning of the fall semester to be included in meetings. See Article II, Section 3.

1. President (1; no requirements): Facilitate GRC meeting discussions; facilitate the occasional Town Hall meeting for current students; organize annual GRC election; additional duties as outlined within the by-laws. 
   The president will reassign graduate student offices and assign offices for new graduate students by August 1st. A preference survey should be sent at least 1 month prior, and students who have been in the department longer should be given higher priority.
2. Vice President (1; no requirements): Prepare minutes of GRC meetings; support the president; serve the duties of president in their absence.
   The Vice President will send the election results to the Department Chair and the Section Directors (Experimental and Clinical) as soon as the election results are finalized.
3. Department Faculty Meeting Representatives (1 Clinical and 1 Experimental): A single clinical and experimental student will each attend department faculty meetings to carry out the following duties: 
   • The faculty representatives should expect to attend every faculty meeting. At the meeting, faculty representatives take notes regarding every topic discussed in the meeting. The faculty representatives should communicate to the GRC what was discussed at any faculty meeting that has occurred since the most recent GRC meeting. The Vice President of GRC will take notes on what the faculty representatives report. The President or Vice President of GRC may ask the faculty representative for a copy of their notes for informational purposes. The faculty representatives will also communicate with all clinical and/or experimental graduate students about issues discussed at faculty meetings that are relevant to students. Each section’s faculty representative is also responsible for coordinating student mentors for first-year students in their respective sections.
   • Additionally, the faculty representatives should be prepared to provide feedback to the faculty when needed. A role of the faculty representatives is to provide the graduate student perspective in faculty meetings. Therefore, the representatives should speak up about any topic relevant to graduate student interests. Last, the faculty representatives should bring up important informational topics relevant to graduate students to the department chair when necessary. The department chair will then put the faculty representatives on the faculty meeting agenda, and the faculty representatives should be prepared to present during the meeting. Examples of informational items faculty representatives may place on the agenda: presenting a new online methodology technique to faculty or presenting a recent project relevant to graduate students, such as a new file documenting graduate student course progress. If another student would like to present an informational item to the faculty, the student can ask one or both faculty representatives to work with the department chair to add the presentation item to the faculty meeting agenda.
4. Section Committee Meeting Representatives (1 Clinical and 1 Experimental): A single clinical and experimental student will each serve on the respective faculty section committee to carry out the following duties:

• Attend clinical/experimental faculty section meetings during the academic year to provide a student perspective when necessary, gather and present student concerns and input, vote on graduate student related policies on behalf on the clinical/experimental student body, and provide summaries of relevant topics of discussion to the clinical/experimental graduate students after each meeting. The representatives will also provide updates from the clinical/experimental sections in GRC meetings and represent clinical/experimental graduate students in GRC affairs.
• The experimental representative will also solicit feedback from those that take comprehensive exams within the given academic year in an effort to communicate any concerns and information to relevant faculty.

5. Policy, Planning and Administration Representatives (1 Clinical and 1 Experimental): Attend meetings headed by department chair in which potential new policies are discussed. These meetings are typically held twice per month. The member is expected to represent student opinions/concerns at the meeting, ask the PPA committee for a chance to elicit student opinions, report findings back to the committee, and report on content of PPA meetings to the GRC.

6. Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Committee (1 Clinical and 1 Experimental): This committee functions to advance a diverse faculty and student body; provide faculty and students with training regarding diversity, inclusion, and social justice issues; promote research and teaching related to diversity, inclusion, and social justice; and promote a psychologically safe and inclusive organizational climate. One representative from each section will serve on this committee. Representatives will attend committee meetings and report back to the GRC.

7. Curriculum, Scholarship, and Awards Committee Representative (1; no requirements): Attend meetings to determine undergraduate scholarships/awards and future changes to undergraduate curriculum.

8. Clinical Advisory and Internship Committee (1 Clinical): Attend periodic confidential meetings in which the clinic director seeks feedback regarding clinic-related issues/policies. Further, this representative will oversee placement of students in internships; thus, the student role includes helping to review internship materials (i.e., CV, APPIC form, sample cover letters or letters, statement of progress, a list of prospective internship sites, personal essays) and provide advice about the accuracy and appropriateness of the materials. Last, this representative will solicit feedback from those that take comprehensive exams within the given academic year to relay any concerns and information to relevant faculty.

9. Graduate Student Senate Representative (1; no requirements): Attend meetings of the Senate to discuss/pass resolutions on issues affecting all graduate students; provide voice for department concerns and perspectives; serve on advisory committees as appointed by the Senate and University President. The GRC member of GSS is the Psychology Department Representative. GSS members may also be expected to serve on other GSS committees.

10. Grants Committee (1 Clinical and 1 Experimental): Review Graduate Student Senate Original Work Grant submissions. Apply to be a grant reviewer when the email comes from GSS. Attend all grant committee meetings and review grants as instructed by GSS. Attend a grants subcommittee and a full committee meeting each semester.

11. Ohio Psychological Association & American Psychological Association (1 Clinical): Attend meetings and promote OPA/APA and encourage student involvement in OPA/APA. This may include distributing information about grants, conferences, and other opportunities distributed through OPAGS/APAGS and encouraging student involvement in the regional and national conferences.

12. Advising Center Liaison (non-elected member; appointed by the Advising Center Staff): Serve as the representative to inform the GRC on activities relevant to graduate students and elicit feedback. If the advising center is unwilling to have a grad student come to meetings or no grad student is able to attend, the Advising Center will be asked to write a list of any changes and updates each month, sent to the Pres and VP of GRC before the GRC monthly meeting.

13. Faculty Search Committee Liaison (non-elected member; appointed by the Department Chair): Serve as the representative to inform the GRC on activities regarding current faculty searches and elicit feedback.

14. Ad Hoc Committees (non-elected member; appointed by the Faculty Committee): Serve as the representative(s) on any faculty committee as necessary to inform the GRC on activities and elicit feedback as they pertain to the duties of the committee in question.

15. Mentoring Representative: manage graduate student mentoring, help out the Advising center with the undergraduate student mentoring program.

16. Media Representative: Communicates the highlights of the meeting (each member will need to send the top 3 notes from their committee). After approval from the GRC VP, the Media Rep will send via email a flier with the top highlights of the meeting to the whole graduate student body.

17. Treasurer: Look into making GRC an official Ohio University Student Org, and subsequently obtain and manage funding.

Section 3

1. Department Faculty Meeting
   • 1.1. Leader: Jeff Vancouver
   • 1.2. Meeting Days/Times: Last Friday of the month; 11:50-12:45
2. 2. Section Committee Meeting:
   • 2.1. Leader for Clinical: Julie Suhr
   • 2.2. Clinical Meeting Days/Times:
   • 2.3. Leader for Experimental: Peggy Zoccola
   • 2.4. Experimental Meeting Days/Times:
3. Policy, Planning, and Administration Committee
   • Leader: Jeff Vancouver
   • Meeting Days/Times: every other Friday from 11:50-12:4
4. Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Committee
   • 4.1. Leader:
   • 4.2. Meeting Days/Times:
5. Curriculum, Scholarship, and Awards Committee
   • 5.1. Leader: Susan Tice-Alicke
   • 5.2. Meeting Days/Times:
6. Clinical Advisory and Internship Committee
   • 6.1. Leader:
   • 6.2. Meeting Days/Times:
7. Graduate Student Senate
   • 7.1. Leader: GSS President
   • 7.2. Meeting Days/Times: Every other Tuesday starting in September (as of the 2023-2024 school year) from 7:00pm – 9:00 pm
8. Grants Committee
   • 8.1. Leader: TBD
   • 8.2. Meeting Days/Times: TBD
9. Ohio Psychological Association & American Psychological Association
   • 9.1. Leader:
   • 9.2. Meeting Days/Times:
10. Advising Center:
    • 10.1. Leader: Susan Tice-Alicke
    • 10.2. Meeting Days/Times: TBD
11. Faculty Search Committee
    • 11.1. Leader: TBD 
    • 11.2. Meeting Days/Times: TBD

Article III. Meetings

3.1. The GRC will meet regularly at an announced time and place, during the calendar year except for the months of May, June, July, August, and December. Meetings will be announced by the President or Vice President at least one week prior to the scheduled date. GRC Meetings can be online or partially remote if the GRC Members need and arrange prior to the meeting time selection.

3.2. During non-meeting months, meetings will be called by the President if deemed necessary.

3.3. The student body will also be notified of each GRC meeting and allowed to attend. However, only elected members will be permitted to vote in meetings and considered for quorum.

3.4. Additionally, students selected by the faculty to serve on advising center, faculty search, and ad hoc committees will be requested to attend monthly GRC meetings. Unless these students also serve elected positions on the GRC, they will not be considered members with voting rights (See Article IV regarding voting rights).

Article IV. Voting Privileges

Section 1 – Issues Requiring a Vote:

4.1.1. Issues discussed in GRC will be resolved informally (e.g., decisions about the faculty picnic or substitutes for meetings) unless a GRC member voices objection, which will require a second from another GRC member; at which time, the issue will be brought to a vote in the meeting if a quorum is present. If any member requests confidentiality, the vote must be done using secret ballot. If a quorum is not present, a Member can motion to hold a vote via electronic means or table the vote to the next meeting.

4.1.2. Outside of monthly GRC meetings, an online vote can be conducted through confidential methods (e.g., Qualtrics), prepared by the President or President’s designee (of a member). Members will be notified of any such a vote by email; such notice must include a deadline by which a response must be given and made aware that the vote is binding. Members must be given at least three business days to respond.

4.1.3. A current GRC member may introduce and present any matter they wish at a regularly-scheduled meeting. The matter will be discussed and if the GRC wishes, can be motioned for immediate voting provided a quorum is present (see Article IV; Section 2). A student who is not a GRC member must contact the GRC President and Vice President if they have a matter they wish to present (see Article IV, Section 4).

Section 2 – Voting:

4.2.1. Only members (and any appointed alternates to representatives) are considered voting members.

4.2.2. A quorum will be required to vote; a quorum shall be considered two-thirds of members or their proxy are in attendance.

4.2.3. Votes shall be taken by show of hands unless a secret ballot is requested. Voting results shall be recorded by the Vice President.

4.2.4. An absent member may designate a student who is also a member to serve as their proxy during a GRC meeting.

4.2.5. A majority of positive votes from quorum is a passing vote.

Section 3 – Voting by Proxy:

4.3.1. A member shall designate a proxy by providing a written or electronic statement to the proxy and the President before the beginning of the meeting. The statement shall include the name of the member designating the proxy, the name of the member who shall be the proxy, and any instructions given to the proxy.

4.3.2. A member may provide instructions for his or her proxy including, but not limited to, how to vote on a resolution, and the text of any speech the member wishes to have read into the record.

4.3.3. All comments and actions of the proxy are the responsibility of the member for whom the member is a proxy. Any action shall be considered as if the member committed the act himself or herself.

Section 4 – Procedure for Non-GRC Members

4.4.1. If a non-GRC member has a matter they wish to present to the GRC, the student may contact the President of the GRC (and CC the vice-president) with sufficient details for the matter to be introduced to the GRC.

4.4.2 The matter can be introduced to the GRC by the President or VP either during a monthly meeting or via an online poll. After the introduction, the GRC can vote on whether to hold a separate meeting for the matter, deal with the matter in the current or next regular GRC meeting, table the matter to another GRC meeting, or deny the presentation of the matter.

4.4.3. If the GRC votes to hold a separate meeting for the matter, the meeting may be chosen to be online or in person. The student body will not be invited to the meeting but the student wishing to present the matter will be invited to attend.

4.4.4. If the vote reaches a majority in favor of presenting the matter, the non-member must present the matter in the designated time and format. The GRC members may vote regarding the matter after the presentation.

Article V. Removal of a GRC Member

Section 1 – Procedure for Removal of GRC Member\

5.1.1. Any member may be removed by a petition signed by at least two-thirds of members. Once a petition is submitted to the president for consideration of a vote, the GRC President must electronically notify the member in question and they shall be permitted an opportunity to submit an opposition within 10 days of receiving notice. If no statement of opposition is submitted within the 10 day period, the petition will become effective. If a statement of opposition is submitted, all members will be electronically notified of opposition of the petition. The GRC president will then take an electronic poll of all members that must be supported by at least two-thirds vote of elected GRC members to uphold the petition (i.e., if two-thirds of all members is not achieved the petition is not upheld). The appeal if denied by members may then be taken to the entire student body if the petitioner requests. If the petition is upheld by a two-thirds vote of members, entire student body, or no opposition is timely filed, the member in question will be removed from their position. The office vacated will then be filled in line with the process outlined in article 2.1.4.

5.1.2. The grounds for a petition are limited to one or more of the following:

1. Made no effort to attend GRC meeting.
2. Did not complete obligations inherent in their elected position.
3. Engaged in inappropriate behavior that served to embarrass the Department of Psychology.
4. Engaged in any illegal action or by making any action or statement that is inconsistent with the department's ethical aspirations of diversity, fairness, and equality.

5.1.3 Impeachment: If the GRC president is the GRC member that has been petitioned to be removed, the GRC vice president shall immediately fulfill the roles and obligations of the president until the matter is resolved and the president will be suspended from all duties and honors until the matter is resolved. The section committee representative for the section the president is not a part of shall perform the duties involved in the impeachment process.

Article VI. Amendments of the By-laws

6.1. Any elected member may propose amendments to the GRC by-laws.

6.2. By-laws will be amended by a two-thirds vote of elected GRC members.

6.3. All changes to by-laws must be briefly noted in the change history appendix.

Appendix

Changes to By-laws

1., Apr. 2017. Specified that the GRC is to be made up of graduate students able to physically attend meetings.

2.1.3., Apr. 2017. Edited language to indicate plurality of the votes in lieu of majority of votes needed for election to positions.

2.2.6., Apr. 2017. Edited language to indicate academic term in lieu of academic year.

2.2.1, Apr. 2017. Punctuation changes. Meeting times updated for department faculty meeting representative and section committee meeting representative positions.

5.1.2, Apr. 2017. Edited language to specify illegal actions in lieu of illegal, inflammatory actions due to concern of potential infringements on free speech.

August 2023

• Removed language limiting GRC member eligibility and meetings to in-person.
• Specified that GRC members should reach out to their faculty leader
• Added roles for President and Vice President: The President will reassign offices at the beginning of each year, and the VP will send out election results once finalized.
• Removed days/times of committee meetings from within membership role descriptions and added a section for the information, to be updated once all the information is obtained.
• Specified and clarified roles for GSS and Grant Reviewer, and added a clause for the Advising Center to send an electronic list of updates if there is no person available to attend the GRC meetings.
• Added a section specifying how non-member graduate students can propose and present matters to the GRC.
• Revised the list of infringements that can result in removal of a member, and outlined steps for impeachment of the GRC President.
• Added positions for Mentoring (to help coordinate undergrad mentoring as well as graduate student mentoring), Media (to send easily-readable highlights of GRC Meetings to the graduate student body), and Treasurer (to investigate becoming an Ohio University Student Organization, and subsequently to obtain and manage funding).