Department senators are elected within their department’s own procedures. If you would like to participate in the Graduate Student Senate and a representative, consult your program’s Graduate Director and participate in the process.

According to the Constitution and Bylaws, department senators must…

• Serve on at least one internal and one external (administrative) committee.
  • Committees shall meet to discuss committee matters at least once per month outside of the regularly scheduled GSS meetings
  • External (administrative) committee position availability may differ each academic year.
• Attend each GSS meeting or designate a proxy to attend in their absence.
• Actively and accurately represent the viewpoints of their program of study in all matters.
• Conduct meetings of graduate students in their college, department, or school to solicit their views and concerns.
• Inform their constitutions of issues, activities, bills, and amendments brought to the GSS.
• Maintain an active email account for purposes of receiving and sending information.

Although not included in the official documents, the Senate recommends

• That departments, when possible, have a “junior senator” who will act as a designated proxy and potentially the department senator for next year.
• That senators volunteer in events for graduate and professional students, such as the Fall Orientation for New Graduate Students and the Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week in the spring.