The Graduate and Professional Student Senate
is the official voice of the graduate and professional student
body. Elected officers, senators (department/school reprensatives),
and special interest committees tackle issues specific to
graduate and professional students and provide venues for
interaction beyond the academic realm. Our funding comes from
your programming fees, and we use this money to provide advocacy,
social, academic, and community service events, and funding
for student groups throughout the year.
GPSS Mission
Purpose: To enhance the USC
graduate and professional student experience
Objectives: To serve as the
“FACE” of the graduate community
- Funding: managing graduate and professional
student resources efficiently
- Advocacy: providing a voice for the graduate
and professional student community
- Community: building a graduate and professional
community through interdisciplinary exchanges
- Education: informing graduate and professional
students about their rights, resources and opportunities
This purpose and these objectives were prepared
for GPSS in a project by Stacy Mungo, Kelly Forester, Jim
Thomas and John Keisler. Read their Executive
Summary and Final
Report.
How Does GPSS Represent Me?
Senators elect the Executive Board every year.
They approve the budget and help aid in fund distribution.
The Executive Board then appoints committee chairs. The Executive
Board and committees are your advocates to the university
administration.
GPSS Goals
1. To provide the highest level of service to
graduate and professional students at all USC campuses through
performing three main functions: advocacy, funding, and programming.
2. GPSS pledges to provide quality programming
via programs planned and executed by GPSS and funding of programs
initiated and executed by graduate and professional student
organizations as well as those campus-wide programs that benefit
graduate and professional students.
3. GPSS pledges to further develop USC's community,
both within and outside campus boundaries. GPSS will accomplish
this through active development of volunteer and internship
activities thus enriching the graduate experience and enhancing
the lives of all community members.
4. GPSS pledges to promote fair and expedient
treatment of graduate and professional students through providing
ombudsman services to assist students in learning about their
rights and privileges.
How Can I Get Involved?
Statement on the Apolitical Stance
of GPSS
The Graduate and Professional Student
Senate (GPSS) aims to represent all of its more than 14,000
students fairly and accurately. These students come from numerous
countries and states and span the entire political spectrum.
As there are a great many issues that are presented to GPSS
that request partisan support, GPSS has taken a decidedly
neutral stance on any such issues. Thus, we do not take a
position on such topics as unionization, taxes on graduate
stipends, or any other local, national or international political
issue. Likewise, we do not endorse particular commercial vendors
as we think students should be given a choice. In place of
support on such issues, GPSS strives to provide comprehensive
information to its students regarding all aspects of any issue
with which we are presented.
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