January
24, 2003
Here are the minutes from the GABS meeting last Friday. There were 18
graduate students present, meaning that attendance is getting better, but
please remember, new faces are always welcome!
1. BARUCH:
The annual weekend trip to Baruch is scheduled for April 11-13. For those of
you who are new.....this is a weekend where graduate students from marine
science and biology get together to give presentations of their research to
fellow grad students. The talks are low key and they are a great way to
learn more about the other students' research and to get feedback on your own
projects. If you are interested in attending, please consider giving a talk
of your research. Abstracts will be due after spring break, so now is a good
time to start thinking about this. For those of you not interested in
presenting, please consider coming for the weekend to interact with the other
grads. We will send more information regarding sign ups in February.
2. TUITION:
The new tuition policy was discussed. The bottom line is that your tuition
bill may look quite different starting this summer, however, you will not owe
more in the future than you have in the past semesters. Please note, if you
receive a high bill, do not pay it- you will still be getting tuition reduction
In further detail...
- TA's will now receive $1753 from the department - giving us the usual tuition
reduction.
- RA's on new grants can now have their tuition written into grants. However,
the amount that they will owe following tuition reduction is still up in the
air. The worst case scenario is that they owe the same as the other TA's and
RA's.
- RA's on old grants - USC will take the tuition reduction (leaving you with
the regular amount) out of the grants, and then they will repay the grants at
the end of the semester - therefore, your faculty advisor will not be
reimbursed the money for your tuition for about 4 months.
3. GABS INVITED SPEAKERS:
Our seminar speakers are scheduled for April 7th (Joseph Nadeau - MCDB) and May
5th (John Wakeley - EEOB)
4. BOB SANDERS:
We have found that it is not within school policy for us to make a plaque in
remembrance of Bob. However, we are in the process of making a certificate
for his family that will be signed by the Board of Trustees showing that he had
completed his coursework for candidacy.
Other suggestions were discussed, and Michelle Vieyra has offered to look into
these further. We will keep you posted.
5. CHAIR SEARCH:
Wade is the graduate student of the chair search committee. He will be in
contact with us regarding the search as it continues.
Thanks for coming to the meeting, and if you have any questions, please feel
free to send them to me. Jen
Jennifer Jost
Department of Biological Sciences
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
(803)-777-3931