The Graduate Council
The Graduate Council is the primary all-University advisory body responsible for the development and review of Graduate School policy and student affairs initiatives, and review of graduate curriculum.
The Provost’s Office has created a Canvas Community for Curriculum Forms and Resources. There you can find a number of resources for graduate program development, including forms for proposing new or altered graduate programs. If you are planning to submit a graduate curriculum proposal, please take a look at some of the examples available in Canvas.
Officers
Chair: Rashmi Jain
Vice Chair: Michele Fisher
Secretary: Valerie Sessa
Curriculum Committee
This committee reviews all new graduate program proposals and all proposed changes in existing graduate programs which do not have as their primary focus teacher education or professional education and makes recommendations to the Graduate Council for its action.
Policy Committee
This committee reviews all questions of graduate policy and makes recommendations to the Graduate Council for its action.
Student Affairs Committee
This committee reviews issues related to student affairs and makes recommendations to the Graduate Council for its action.
Graduate Council Membership – AY 2024-2025
Elected Faculty Members: Two year terms (June 1 – June 30)
Graduate School Appointees and Students: One year terms (June 1 – June 30)
PC – Policy Committee / CC – Curriculum Committee / SC – Student Affairs Committee
*Denotes student member
COLLEGE FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH (3)
| Amanda Birnbaum (Public Health) – SC | 2023-2025 |
| Brad van Eeden-Moorefield (FSHD) – CC | 2023-2025 |
| Matt Shurts (Counseling) – PC | 2024-2026 |
| Alternate Faculty: Meena Mahadevan | 2024-2026 |
| *Student TBD | 2024-2025 |
COLLEGE OF THE ARTS (3)
| Scott Richards (Cali School of Music) – CC | 2024-2026 |
| Marcus D. Harvey (Theatre and Dance) – SC | 2023-2025 |
| Yi Luo (Communication and Media) – PC | 2023-2025 |
| Alternate Faculty: Hugh Curnutt | 2024-2026 |
| *Naja Long | 2024-2025 |
COLLEGE FOR EDUCATION AND ENGAGED LEARNING (3)
| Jennifer Goeke (Teaching and Learning) – SC | 2023-2025 |
| Helenrose Fives (Educational Foundations) – PC | 2023-2025 |
| Erik Jacobson (Teaching and Learning) – CC | 2023-2025 |
| Alternate Faculty: Vacant | 2024-2026 |
| *Kayla O’Donnell – SC | 2024-2025 |
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS (3)
| Rashmi Jain (Info Mgmt & Bus Analytics) – SC | 2023-2025 |
| Vidya Atal (Economics) – CC | 2023-2025 |
| Nicole Koppel (Info Mgmt & Bus Analytics) | 2024-2026 |
| Alternate Faculty: Te Wu – PC | 2024-2026 |
| *Student TBD | 2024-2025 |
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES (3) SCHOOL OF NURSING (3)
| Anna Feldman (Linguistics) – CC | 2023-2025 |
| Tarika Daftary Kapur (Justice Studies) – SC | 2023-2025 |
| Emily Douglas (Social Work & Child Advoc) – PC | 2024-2026 |
| Alternate Faculty: Yasir Ibrahim | 2024-2026 |
| *Dominique Blake | 2024-2025 |
SCHOOL OF NURSING (3)
| Brenda Marshall (Nursing) – CC | 2024-2026 |
| Elizabeth Fitzgerald (Nursing) – PC | 2023-2025 |
| Vacant – PC | 2024-2026 |
| Alternate Faculty: Vacant | 2023-2025 |
| *Student TBD | 2024-2025 |
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS (3)
| Matt Schuler (Biology) – CC | 2023-2025 |
| Tarika Daftary Kapur (Justice Studies) – PC | 2023-2025 |
| Emily Douglas (Social Work & Child Advoc) – SC | 2024-2026 |
| Alternate Faculty: Vacant | 2024-2026 |
| *Melissa Spigelman (Biology) – SC | 2024-2025 |
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL (3)
| Chris King (Psychology) – PC | 2023-2025 |
| Valerie Sessa (Psychology) – PC | 2023-2025 |
| Michele Fisher (Kinesiology) – PC | 2024-2026 |
| *Student TBD | 2024-2025 |
Rotation for Election of Graduate Council Representatives
The number of elected faculty to Graduate Council is 24 (three per College/School). In addition to the three elected representatives, an alternate should be elected from each College/School to serve if an elective representative is unable to participate in Graduate Council activities. Smaller Colleges/Schools with fewer than 10 faculty members may choose to elect fewer than three representatives. When possible, at least one of the elected representatives from each College/School shall be a graduate program coordinator or doctoral program director.
Elections of faculty members to the Graduate Council take place during the spring semester leading into the following academic year. The election of faculty from each college is staggered so that two faculty members are elected one year, and one faculty member plus an alternate are elected in the following year. The rotation of elected faculty members for each College/School is maintained by The Graduate School.
The policy development mission of The Graduate School is to provide an authoritative, accessible, and current repository for policies that impact the members of the University community across all graduate programs. These policies have broad application throughout the University to help ensure coordinated compliance with applicable laws and regulations, promote operational efficiency, and reduce institutional risk.