2009-2010 GSA Chair

Malaika Singleton is the 2009-2010 GSA Chair.

See also 2008-2009 GSA Chair.

Malaika Singleton, GSA Chair

I was recently nominated to serve on the UC Commission on the Future's Research Strategies Working Group. Please click on the link in the previous sentence to view the recently created page for more details on my service.

We were not able to give Officer Reports at our December 2 meeting as we went ran out of time. Please click on the November 2009 and December 2009 links in the Table of Contents above for more details on my activities. I will add more detailed notes on some sections soon. Also, if you have any comments or questions feel free to leave feedback at the bottom in the comment box or just email me at <gsachair AT ucdavis DOT edu>. Thanks!

April 9, 2009 New UCD survey will provide insight into low retention rates in graduate programs
January 8, 2010 Chancellor asks graduate students to participate in UC Davis vision

Greetings GSA! It is truly an honor serving as Chair and I look forward to another great year. Although we face many challenges with the budget crisis we will do our best to continue to advocate on behalf of graduate student needs and concerns. I look forward to building and sustaining relationships with other organizations such as the Law Students Association and Postdoctoral Scholars Association this year. I will also continue working to provide resources and support for graduate students through collaborative projects such as Grad Women Thrive in Academia and the Graduate Ally Coalition. Thanks to all of you for your continued support. In addition to my work as Chair, I was nominated in the Spring of 2009 to serve as the Western Regional Representative for the NAGPS Social Justice Committee and my first task was in the promotion and distribution of the Campus Pride Survey which was geared to the LGBT community.

I've been involved in many on and off-campus groups/activities. For 2007-2008, I served as Co-Chair of the Black Graduate and Professional Student Association and I've served as BGPSA's Historian since 2008. I'm also an active member of the Davis African Club. Other groups that I've been a part of or have worked with include the Cross Cultural Center, the Women's Resources and Research Center, the Graduate Academic Achievement & Advocacy Program and the Graduate Student Leaders Consortium (GSLC). I'm a sixth-year Ph.D. candidate in Neuroscience and I previously earned a B.A. in Biology and Psychology from Rutgers University-Newark College of Arts & Sciences and New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2004. I grew up in South Carolina and I'm of predominately Gullah/Geechee descent.

contact me at <gsachair AT ucdavis DOT edu>

As GSA Chair I serve as a representative on the Graduate Council of the Academic Senate and report to the Assembly as needed.

I am also serving on the Student Services Subcommittee of the Budget Advisory Committee

I am working with the Graduate Student Assistant to the Dean and Chancellor, Abbie Boggs, the WRRC's Graduate Outreach Intern, Brook Colley, the Cross Cultural Center Chicano/Latino Community Intern, Jonathen Duran, the Co-Student Director of the Graduate Academic Achievement & Advocacy Program, George Sellu, the Campus Violence and Prevention Program Peer Educator, and others on the Graduate Ally Coalition. We hosted a training session on Saturday, September 26, 2009 and we trained 29 attendees.

I am also working with our outgoing Graduate Student Assistant to the Dean and Chancellor, Cynthia Degnan, the WRRC's Graduate Outreach Intern, Brook Colley, Elisabetta Lambertini, and former GSA Vice-Chair, Ann Kelleher, on a Grad Women Thrive in Academia 'zine. This will be a 'zine to share vital insider's information, useful tips, and personal experiences between grad women to navigate academia-and life-as a grad at Davis and make the most of it. If you are interested in the project, may contribute, and want to be kept informed of how it develops, contact us and suggest topics you'd like to hear about. Contact 752-3372 or email <wrrcgrad AT ucdavis DOT edu>. Our first issue was completed in Winter Quarter 2009 and copies of the paper 'zine can be picked up at the WRRC or the GSA Office at 253 South Silo. Click the link above to check out our electronic version of the 'zine.

• June 6, 2009: I attended a California Aggie Alumni Association Board of Directors meeting to give an update on GSA's activities.

• I advertised the Campus Pride Survey that was geared toward the LGBT community as a part of my service as the Western Regional Representative for the NAGPS Social Justice Committee.

• I was in the stage party for the Graduate Commencement Ceremony on June 11, 2009. Congrats grads!

• We learned over the summer that Sandra would be starting graduate school in the Fall and we renegotiated her contract so that she could go down to 50% time. To be continued below...

• August 6-8, 2009: I attended the UCSA Congress which was held at UC Santa Cruz. Registration is open to all UC schools so I was able to attend even though UCD is no longer a member of UCSA. I attended with Director of ASUCD University Affairs Office Maryam Taeb.

  -Thursday, August 6, 2009: I attended 2 Congress Clinics. The first one was on Choosing an Issue and the second was on Issue Briefings. Later I attended 2 Workshop Sessions. The first one was on Affirmative Action in the Present Day and the second was on Leadership Development. Here are the descriptions of these sessions...

  Clinic 1: Choosing an Issue
  

  In order to win and build power, choosing an issue that will be meaningful and engaging for students is essential. Clinic 1 will provide students with tools that will help in choosing an issue for the year. This session will provide an understanding of what an issue is and the criteria for choosing an issue to take action on. These skills will be useful resources when you start discussing campaign ideas during the decision making process.

  Clinic 2: Issue Briefings
  

  Clinic 2 will give students perspective on the issues that UCSA ran this past year: passing the College Affordability Act (CAA) and improving the quality of Graduate Student Healthcare Insurance Plan (GSHIP). Using the issue criteria taught in Clinic 1, in this session you will also gain an understanding of how GSHIP and CAA were chosen, and the steps that were taken in implementing both of these campaigns.

  Workshop Session I: Affirmative Action in the Present Day, led by UC Berkeley Alumna Tam Nguyen
  

  This workshop will outline the current situation of Affirmative Action, a policy that has been detrimental to diversity in the workforce and in higher education. We will also discuss what can be done right now!

  Workshop Session II: Leadership Development, led by UCSA Executive Director Liz Hall
  

  What will your organization do when you've graduated? This workshop will focus on developing new leaders to carry on the organizing on your campus and making people realize their potential when they haven't yet! Come to this workshop to learn how to insure your campus and organization will have strong leaders well into the future.

  -Friday, August 7, 2009: I attended 2 more Workshop Sessions. Below are the descriptions of the sessions I attended on Friday.

  Workshop Session III: Graduate Student Health Insurance, the E True Hollywood Story Version led by Filiberto Nolasco, Outgoing GSHIP Systemwide Committee Member and Ray Austin, UCSA University Affairs Director
  

  We will discuss general issues with GSHIP and provide details about UCSA's campaign to create a system wide GSHIP that at its core would increase the overall quality of life for graduate students by providing enhanced services and a lower cost health insurance plan.

  Workshop Session IV: Graduate Student Funding led by David Alcocer, UC Office of the President
  

  The workshop will provide an overview of current issues related to graduate student support at UC, including the University's overall graduate student support strategy, the role of campuses and the Office of the President, and the impact of fee increases and budget cuts on graduate student support.

  Later that night, I attended a Student Body Presidents' Council Meeting. Please view my notes from the Presidents Council Meeting at UCSA Congress 2009.doc.

• Every summer, Executive Council members take turns helping out for Summer CBDD. Marrah and I shared the responsibilities on September 4, 2009.

• September 10, 2009 Marrah and I attended a meeting about Unitrans in an effort to get graduate students pre-paid access to Unitrans via our fees. Later that day we met with ASUCD President Joe Chatham (who was also at the Unitrans meeting), ASUCD Vice President Chris Dietrich, ASUCD University Affairs Director Maryam Taeb to discuss the relationship between GSA and ASUCD and where we can work together in the future.

• I also met a few times over the summer with the core members of the Graduate Ally Coalition to plan our all-day training in the Fall.

• September 15, 2009 For this year's Week of Welcome, GSA held a Picnic that was combined with the Graduate Resource Fair outside at Solano Park (at the University Club).

• September 26, 2009 The Graduate Ally Coalition held our first training and had 29 graduate students attend an all-day training (9am-4pm) that included the World Cafe, Power Shuffle, a Resource Fair Lunch, Ally Development, Bystander Intervention & Reference to Resources, and a Practice What We've Learned session with scenarios and discussion.

• September 30, 2009 I attended a conference call on the GSHIP campaign to listen in and take notes in Marrah's absence. Please see the External Chair page for more information on the GSHIP campaign.

• October 8, 2009 Vice Chair Karinna and I met with Brett Burns, Executive Director of Auxiliary Services to discuss the US Bank agreement and to ensure graduate student representation on their financial and corporate sponsorship advisory committee. Our treasurer Erica has agreed to represent graduate students on that committee.

• October 13, 2009 I had my first meeting of the academic year with Assistant Vice Chancellor Griselda Castro in the office of Student Affairs. I discussed GSA's goals for the year and the brainstorming session that we had with the General Assembly at our first meeting.

• October 20, 2009 I attended a "Getting Acquainted Meeting" that was hosted in the Office of Student Affairs by Assistant Vice Chancellor Griselda Castro. In attendance were the Student Assistants to the Chancellor, Allison Zike and Nina Massoumi, the Graduate Student Assistant to the Dean and Chancellor, Abbie Boggs, Law Students Association President, Victoria Hassid, and myself. We discussed the upcoming "Dialogue with the Chancellor" which we envisioned would be a joint dialogue addressing both undergraduate and graduate student concerns about the budget.

• October 21, 2009 GSADC Abbie and I met with student representatives from the Geography Graduate Group, who had just learned about the Graduate Council's recent decision to close admissions. The students discussed with us their concerns about the lack of recourse in responding to Graduate Council's decision, the potential loss of new faculty hires, the interdisciplinary nature of their program, lack of student and faculty notification, their campaign to appeal and reopen admissions and other issues concerning the GGG.

• October 23, 2009 I had a meeting with the Graduate Ally Coalition to discuss our next steps which included making the wikipage, hosting a social event for our trainees, and planning future training sessions.

• October 28, 2009 I attended the "Fall Dialogue with the Dean" which once again focused on budget issues. A lot of talk centered around the recent closure of admissions and potential disestablishment of the Geography Graduate Group. One student mentioned a need for more tax services for graduate students. Dean Gibeling mentioned that this is something that GSA and LSA could partner on. I contacted the LSA President Victoria Hassid to see if the LSA was still offering their free tax assistance and unfortunately they are not. However, the GSA Executive Council is trying to figure out a way to at least get graduate students basic tax questions answered so we will keep you posted on a potential Tax Services event if we can pull it off this tax season.

• October 29, 2009 I attended the GSA's Graduate Coordinators Breakfast which was coordinated by our secretary Trina Filan. During this annual event, the GSA Executive Council discusses our goals with the coordinators from the various departments and graduate groups in an effort to better work together to provide services for graduate students. It is also a chance for coordinators to learn tips and best practices from one another.

• October 30, 2009 Erica and I, along with Ellen Yoshimura from Student Affairs conducted interviews for our new Office Coordinator. We had learned at the very beginning of the quarter that Sandra had been offered the chance to go to graduate school full-time and would no longer be able to work part-time as our coordinator. Jennifer Woo was hired as our new Office Coordinator in November. Please see our homepage for more information on the new office hours (check under News and Events).

• November 12, 2009 Vice Chair Karinna, Public Relations Officer Stacey, GSADC Abbie Boggs, and I met with Dean Gibeling to discuss his work as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Council of Graduate Schools; discrepancies in GSR salaries; TA positions, fees, and compensation; and the ''In Abstencia'' policy.

• November 13-18, 2009 External Chair Marrah and I attended the Annual Conference of the National Association for Graduate-Professional Students. At this conference Marrah and I gave a talk titled "Large Scale Event Planning: A How-To Guide for GSAs" and Marrah gave a talk titled "Fostering Campus and City Collaboration". CBDD is always a hit with other schools. BYU started a CBDD after learning about our events at the NAGPS Western Regional Conference that we hosted here this past Spring. The graduate students from the University of Pittsburgh is now interested in starting a CBDD there. Other sessions that I attended included Lobbying 201, Campus-Community Collaborations: Grad Students Can Make it Happen, Youth Engagement and Public Achievement in Policy Change: Click-4-Life as a possible model for Graduate & Professional Student Engagement. We also had a presentation by Interfolio titled "Hook! How to get an edge in your job search", a presentation from Inside Higher Ed, roundtable lunches-I attended the one on Grad Student Diversity, Regional Committee meetings-BYU will be hosting this year's Western Regional Conference, a presentation from Suicide Prevention and 1-800-GRADHLP, a legislative lunch with a representative from Nebraska's State Capitol who discussed the importance of lobbying, and a NAGPS National Membership meeting at the State Capitol where we voted on amendments to the By-Laws and Constitution and held elections for NAGPS Officers.

• November 20, 2009 We had a pre-meeting of various student leaders (representing undergraduate, graduate, and professional students) to discuss our presentation to the UC Commission on the Future. From our discussions four groups were formed to address an overarching theme: Maintain Quality Without Privatization of the University. Under this umbrella were the Academics, Departments, Resources, and Curriculum; Access and Diversity, Advocacy, and Recourse and Accountability groups. I worked on the Advocacy section with LSA President Victoria Hassid, ASUCD Vice President Chris Dietrich and Nick Sidney, Chair of ASUCD's Election Committee. We will be meeting soon to work on publish the final presentation that was presented to the Commission during their visit.

• November 29, 2009 The student leaders met once again before the Commission's visit to practice our presentations.

• November 30, 2009 The UC Commission on the Future made it's visit to UCD. I presented on behalf of students who were concerned with Advocacy for the UC. Please click the link to view the page that I created. Over the Thanksgiving holiday I learned that I had been appointed to the Research Strategies Working Group of the Commission. I created the page so that students can stay informed about the UC Commission on the Future and my work on the Commission's workgroup.

• December 2, 2009 The Research Strategies Working Group had our first meeting. Please view the UC Commission on the Future page for more details on that meeting.

• December 17, 2009 The RSW had our second teleconference. Please see the UC Commission on the Future page for more details on that meeting.

• January 8, 2010 I attended a meeting of the Graduate Ally Coalition.

• January 15, 2010 The Grad Women Thrive in Academia had our first organizational meeting of the year and we have a new group of graduate students who will work with me, Brook, and Trina to create the second edition of our 'zine, which will focus on Navigating Through the First 2 Years in Grad School and Adjusting to Life in Davis.

• January 21, 2010 The Graduate Ally Coalition had a get-together at Steve's Pizza with some members of our Fall 2009 Cohort to brainstorm about the future of our group. I arrived late but brought some materials about suicide prevention amongst graduate students.

• January 26, 2010 I met with Griselda Castro in Student Affairs to give her an update on GSA's activities for the year and to discuss our February meeting as she helped me to coordinate the attendance of our guest speakers, Kelly Ratcliff and Jason Murphy.

• January 29, 2010 Marrah, Abbie, and I met with UC Student Regent-designate Jesse Cheng to discuss his experience thus far, receive some clarity and insight into how he and current Student-Regent, Jesse Bernal, advocate on behalf of students at meetings. It was also an opportunity for our GSA to learn about the best way for us to get our voice heard as we are not members of UCSA. Jesse shared with us ways that we can get our proposals viewed via contacts at UCOP. Additionally, I inquired about Jesse Cheng's experience serving on one of the subgroups of the UC Commission on the Future and it seems that his experience so far has been the same as mine...mostly planning.

  Later that day, we had a Graduate Ally Coalition meeting and we discussed the future of our group. Abbie and I were discussing how to keep the GSA involved as core members and facilitators of this group. After reviewing all of our job descriptions in the GSA by-laws, I feel it's most appropriate that the GSA Vice-Chair and Campus Organizing Director be involved with this group. I will be discussing ways to maintain this relationship with the Executive Council and, if necessary, will make a proposal to the general assembly to have this change include in our by-laws.

• January 30, 2010 On Saturday, I attended the Cal Aggie Alumni Association Board Meeting and gave a report on GSA's activities since the beginning of the year. They are always very receptive to what's going on and I got really positive feedback on all of the things that we are working on. In particular, there is interest in the Breastfeeding Support Program efforts and in our letter to the Regents regarding fee increases and their meeting schedule. Rex Hime is a Regent-designate and AAUC Secretary and has offered some insights behind those decisions. He has also offered to help provide solutions such as proposing that the Regents offer funding for students from the various campuses to travel to meetings. He's also happy to stay in contact with us if there are proposals that ASUCD or GSA would like to have delivered to the Regents.