The Graduate Council’s Graduate Funding Committee (GFC) will convene for the first time this academic year during week 10 after Thanksgiving on Tuesday December 1st at 4:30pm in the Bartlett Lounge.

The Graduate Funding Committee was formed after the administration instituted the Graduate Aid Initiative (GAI) program for incoming students in 2007 in Social Sciences and Humanities, which, while addressing long-standing funding problems in those divisions, did nothing to help students who were already enrolled in those divisions and did nothing to address additional funding and cost issues suffered by students in many other divisions. Working with the administration and activist groups like Graduate Students United (GSU), the GFC has worked to double TA pay in several divisions, extend Health Care benefits to all students in Scholastic Residency (SR) and has been a major voice in insuring that the administration track the changing landscape of teaching availability in several divisions affected by the GAI and react to this data accordingly.

Key priorities for GFC this year include (but are not limited to):

1. Working to eliminate out-of-pocket tuition expenses for students in Advanced Residency (AR) in every division.

2. Seeking health insurance benefits for students who work in any capacity on campus while enrolled as graduate students (TAs, RAs, Lectors, library jobs, administrative positions, etc. – Work is work and deserves to be properly recognized and funded accordingly)

3. Surveying the on-the-ground experience of Graduate Students looking for teaching opportunities in SSD, Hum., and Div School in a field made more competitive by the addition of GAI students with mandated teaching requirements, and a policy by the college to prefer GAI students over non GAI students when hiring TAs and Lectors in the college.

4. Working with Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs) on campus and other faculty advocates to establish adequate child care options on campus for all University workers with childcare needs.

The GFC is looking for dedicated committee members from all divisions to meet at least bi-weekly as a committee, be willing to meet with administrators and student activists throughout the year, communicate regularly with students in various divisions and departments about funding and other cost-of-living related issues on campus and to take leadership positions on the various issues we will be tackling this year.

The University has indicated that the worst of the financial crisis is behind us. There is no better time than to ask the University why it cannot provide adequate health care for all graduate students still making appropriate progress towards their degree, eliminate AR tuition and stop charging students who come to campus each day and provide “work” in a variety of manners, insure that all qualified students who need to teach to make ends meet have teaching opportunities to do so, and provide childcare for its own faculty, researchers, and employees.

Join President Zimmer and Vice President Kimberly Goff-Crews at the quarterly student meeting for an overview of some key issues at the University and to ask questions about what’s on YOUR mind. Hosted by Student Government and the Office of Campus and Student Life. Refreshments will be served. Come for the engaging conversation and have a little lunch as well.

The trial service will connect campus directly to the Roosevelt Road transit station, giving members of the University community easy access to downtown locations at a time when other options are limited.

Buses will leave 57th Street and University Avenue seven times between 9 p.m. and 3:30 a.m., with return trips from Roosevelt Road departing a half-hour later. Dates of operation follow the academic calendar.

Officials in the University’s Office of Transportation and Parking said the new service was created in response to student requests, and is being funded through the spring quarter with savings created by efficiencies elsewhere in the bus system.

After an analysis of the University community’s transportation needs last spring, a series of changes was made this fall in University-operated shuttle bus routes and University-subsidized CTA routes. As part of that overhaul, two CTA routes connecting downtown and Hyde Park, largely for daytime commuter use, were discontinued due to low ridership and readily available alternatives.

The new shuttle will focus on a time when fewer options are available through Metra and CTA. The South Loop terminus will connect riders with many CTA routes serving the Loop and nearby neighborhoods.

Officials said that like other University-operated shuttles, the South Loop Shuttle will be monitored so that service can be tailored to meet riders’ needs.

Officials also announced several more adjustments to the campus shuttle system, based on ridership patterns observed this fall. Sunday through Thursday, service has been extended until 2 a.m.; Monday through Friday, shuttles will run every 10 minutes from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., every 20 minutes thereafter. The central route will move to 56th Street instead of 55th, and will use Blackstone Avenue between 59th and 57th streets.

For detailed information on routes and schedules, please go to http://transportation.uchicago.edu.

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Bob Rosenberg in Communications is spearheading an initiative to investigate the University’s brand presence, and to increase our brand presence and strengthen our global footprint. Rachna Gupta, a Chicago Booth intern, has spent the last six weeks researching academic licensing, including U of C’s current status. This fall, Rachna will be leading a team of Chicago Booth students who will conduct more in-depth research and build a business plan for licensing going forward. This committee will convene to advise and mentor the Booth Business Solutions Team. Committee members include:

Karen Coleman, Office of the VP and Dean of Students
Chris Iannuccilli, Chicago Booth
Ellen Perry, Alumni Relations and Development
Elena Rolon, Office of the General Counsel
Bob Rosenberg, Communications
Elizabeth Shanin, Office of the General Counsel
Grant Schexinder, 3C

The Programming and Coordinating Council brings together the biggest programming groups on campus. COUP, DOC, MAB, University Theater, WHPK, and Fire Escape Films, are part of this committee. The main purpose of this committee is to bring these programming groups together throughout the year in order to foster communication and cooperation amongst them.

Launched by students in 2004, the council works on a variety of environmental projects within three key priority areas. Recent projects have included campus recycling, dormitory energy audits, conservation efforts, a proposal to the University administration on sustainability principles, energy conservation and efficiency, and Earth Week.

Council members are faculty, staff, and students from all corners of campus. Members serve on either the Communications and Development Committee or the Projects and Events Committee. Three ad hoc committees—Urban Agriculture, Energy Efficiency, and Sustainable Purchasing—work specifically on the Council’s areas of priority.

We welcome your suggestions and comments. Join the council at one of ourbi-quarterly meetings, or contact us.