Special Projects Fund

The Special Projects Fund is a GSA-sponsored source of funding for graduate student-initiated and/or run projects and events of interest/value to graduate students across the campus. As part of our increase in GSA fees, the fund has $6000 annually for all such projects, and the amount offered to any one project is limited to $2000.

To apply, submit the application along with a one-page proposal to the GSA office. The proposal must outline the project, the project budget, what sources of funding you currently have, who the project is meant to target, and what benefits it provides to graduate students. Please include contact information on the project organizers. Please note that applications and proposals are due at least 6 weeks prior to the event in order to allow adequate time for consideration by the GSA.

Special Projects Application Form.doc

The GSA Executive Council will meet to consider your proposal and, if necessary, gather additional information from you. The Executive Council will then present your project at the next GSA Assembly meeting, along with their recommendation as to whether the GSA should fund the project and in what amount. You will be informed of the meeting date and time. We strongly recommend that you attend and be prepared to give a brief statement about your project and answer any questions from the Assembly. The GSA Assembly will make the final decision as to whether to fund your project.

The GSA office will reimburse you for expenses associated with your project up to the amount of your award. To be reimbursed, you must submit original receipts to the GSA office coordinator in 253 South Silo. If your expenses will include compensating individuals for their efforts on your project, you must arrange, in advance, for direct payment from our office to those individuals. Some expenses, such as those associated with travel, require completion of forms available in the GSA office.

10/20/2004
Ted Buehler
M.S. student, Transportation Technology and Policy
Chris Congleton
Ph.D. student, Transportation Technology and Policy

We are starting a "Community Bike Shop" at The Domes. The "Bike Dome" will be the kind of place where anyone can bring their bike in and figure out how to get it running smoothly.

Bicycles are a key component to the lives of many students. A smooth running bicycle will allow students to commute to school from anywhere in Davis, providing them with a good quality of life, freedom to come and go as they choose, and affordable transportation.

Davis, unfortunately, does not have any fun, friendly shops where students can learn to maintain their bike, fraternize with other bicyclists, and drop in on a regular basis to fix minor problems.

We are solving this by building a "Bike Dome" at Baggins End housing. This is within easy walking distance of most of the grad student housing, including The Atruims, The Colleges, Orchard Park, etc. It's also within easy striking distance of many of the undergrad dorms.

The "Bike Dome" will provide the following services not available at UCD or in Davis:

1. A full service shop to repair your own bike.
   

2. Instruction/support in repairing own bike.
   

3. Open after 4PM, open in evenings.
   

4. Within 3 blocks of most on-campus housing (not too far to walk your broken-down bike).
   

5. "Sales" of used parts.
   

6. Volunteer opportunities.
   

7. Services at no cost for low-income patrons
   

8. Wicked bike parties, bike games, etc.
   

9. Casual, 45 minute "classes" on basic bike upkeep. No cost, no pre-registration.
   

10. Place for bicycle advocates to congregate, meet each other, and devise means to improve the bike path system in Davis.

This location is more commonly known as the Bike Church.

4/2/2005
Kit Meyers
Ph.D., Food Science

This event is a collegebowl tournament for food science students from ten state universities in the west that are members of the Institute of Food Scientists. Each year, the IFT student rep for the western region hosts a collegebowl competition to decide who attends the national competition in the summer. As I am the rep this year, the meeting will take place in Davis. Students will be arriving on Friday night and staying until Sunday afternoon. There will be a pizza dinner downtown on Friday night. On Saturday, April 2^nd, we will be traveling from Davis in two buses to the Culinary Institute of America and Napa for a tour of their facilities, a lecture from one of their instructors and the collegebowl competition. Buses will be needed because parking at the CIA is very limited. Dinner that night will be a BBQ at the food science department on the UCD campus. Flyers for the event will be posted around the food science department. The event will be open to any UCD students interested and an announcement about this event will be made at one of the GSA meetings. The event is being planned by me (a graduate student in the food science department) as well as other graduate students (especially those in the Food Science Graduate Student Association). Half of the expected attendees will be graduate students. The attendees from other universities (about 5 members per team) will receive email invitations and half of their team members will also be graduate students. This is a great opportunity to get graduate students in the food science department more involved in social and departmental activities, as well as introduce undergrads to the workings of the food science graduate student association. It will also increase awareness of food science to grad students in other departments as well as promote inter-departmental cooperativity. We will have brochures at the event and a section will be reserved for thanking our sponsors (the GSA).