Internal Committees

In order to facilitate the operations of GPC, members of the General Assembly are required to serve on one of several internal committees. These committees are designed to target specific, campus-wide issues that are of importance to graduate and professional students. All representatives are required to participate on GPC committees as a way of serving their constituents.

Constitutional and Bylaws Review Committee

The primary purpose of the Constitutional and Bylaws Review Committee is the monitoring and review of the Graduate Professional Council Constitution and Bylaws as they exist for that operating year. Members of this committee are selected by the President and include whomever is selected as Parliamentarian of the Graduate Professional Council. Members of this committee aid the President in reviewing the operating guidelines of the Graduate and Professional Council and make recommendations for revisions and amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws at a minimum of every two years.

Chair: Al Willsey

• Christopher A. Austin
• Beth A. Barker
• Patricia Snarski
• Blake Willoughby
• Jesse Wyatt
• Athena Bouras
• Michael Leahy
• Ben Vega

Academic Affairs Committee

The primary purpose of the Academic Affairs Committee is the monitoring of academic issues on campus. Members of this committee are selected by the Vice-President to serve on various student-faculty committees that monitor the academic life of the university. Members of this committee aid the Vice-President in planning the annual Gold Chalk Awards, which honor excellence in professors who instruct graduate and professional students. The committee also serves as the advisory body to the General Assembly on campus-wide academic issues (e.g. the raising of minimum admissions standards for the Graduate School).

Chair: Jesse Wyatt

• Tipparat Udmuangpia
• Tushar Kanta Das Nakini
• Taher Hajilounezhad
• Ayleen A Cabas Mijares
• Leonardo Montes Alvarez
• Samantha Jones
• Nkem Okoye

Student Affairs Committee

The primary purpose of the Student Affairs Committee is the monitoring of student issues on campus. As opposed to the Academic Affairs Committee, Student Affairs addresses issues that improve the quality of student life on campus (e.g. the quality of on-campus housing for graduate and professional students). Members of this committee are selected by the Vice-President to serve on student-faculty committees that address a wide variety of issues important to the campus life of the student body.

Chair: Shannon King

• Aaron Sullivan
• Eryn J. Adams
• Kendal L. Lowrey
• Kaleb C. Sellers
• Christal Hamilton
• Stephanie Link
• Alexandra Moore
• Arianna Soldati
• Matthew Riehn

Finance Committee

The primary function of the Financial Committee is the monitoring of the finances of GPC. Recommendations regarding the support or dismissal of a funding request to the body of the General Assembly come from this body of students. The most important program that the Finance Committee oversees is the Travel Awards program for graduate and professional students.

Chair: Christina Wang

• Elizabeth M. Gammel
• Christopher J. Glover
• Johanna Klein
• Christina H. Wang
• Olivia M. Meyer
• Christopher Lee
• Joe LaRose
• Alek Pickett
• Rachel Harris
• June Preast
• Laura Browning
• Rachel Lomonaco-Benzing
• Dalisha D. Herring
• Brandon Wolak

Programming Committee

The primary function of the Programming Committee is the planning of GPC activities. They not only help to plan and publicize but also help in the implementation of their plans and publications. The most important program that the Programming Committee oversees is the Research and Creative Activities Forum, a competitive, intra-campus academic conference for graduate and professional students usually held in the spring.

Chair: Kristen Kalz

• Alexander T. Jackson
• Nicholas L. Brothers
• Catherine Seidu
• Laura Reans
• Caroline Thompson
• Kristine Mallinson
• Nicholas Eovaldi
• Sidharth Sen

Communication Committee

The primary function of this committee is to publicize the activities and accomplishments of the Graduate Professional Council. Members will work with the GPC Director of Communication to develop and implement social media campaigns, improve the GPC website, and disseminate promotional materials throughout campus. Additionally, the committee will write and distribute press releases documenting the advocacy efforts and resolutions of the organization.

Chair: Katie Molind

• Douglas R. Valentine
• Alexandra M. Moore
• Xin Wei
• Rebecca Pelky
• Joshua Karnowski

National Affairs Committee

The primary function of the National Affairs Committee is to advocate on behalf of graduate, professional, post-baccalaureate, and postdoctoral students at the University of Missouri at the regional and national level. The committee monitors and recommends legislation, coordinates advocacy efforts, issues policy statements, and provides analysis.

Chair: Benton Berigan

• Matt Burch
• Benton R. Berigan
• Kristofferson Culmer
• Courtney Chendler
• Thomas Jurrissen

State Affairs Committee

The primary function of the State Affairs Committee is to advocate on behalf of graduate, professional, post-baccalaureate, and postdoctoral students at the University of Missouri at the state and local level. The committee monitors and recommends legislation, coordinates advocacy efforts, issues policy statements, and provides analysis.

Chair: Kari Chesney

• Michael Borucke
• Rachel K. Owen
• Fouad Alsammarrie
• Nathan Beckett
• Hailong Song
• Jamie Phelps
• Erin E. Niederberger

External Committees

Members of the GPC General Assembly are required to join one or more of the following committees and report back to the assembly.  Many of these committees are part of MU’s standing committees appointed by the Chancellor; others are MSA/GPC committees, professional association committees, or special task forces which arise out of need.