Officers and Committees
GSO Officers
President(s) - Asia Hightower (highto29@msu.edu) and Riley Pizza (pizzaril@msu.edu): The President leads GSO meetings, schedules meeting times for each semester and checks in with officers and committee members to report on meetings they attended. The President also attends PLB faculty meetings and reports on what is discussed at the GSO meetings.
Treasurer – Brianna Brown: Manages finances for the PLB GSO. Responsibilities include keeping a budget of the organization’s fundraising and spending and facilitating reimbursements from the organization’s financial account(s).
Secretary – Sophie Buysse: The PLB secretary comes to GSO meetings and takes notes, distributing these to the GSO members through the PLBGRAD listserv email and sharing them in the PLB slack. The GSO secretary is also responsible for updating the department calendar with GSO related events.
Social Chair(s) – Eleanore Ritter, Julia Brose: Leads social planning efforts. Responsibilities include scheduling events, determining event costs, seeking funds, identifying venues, advertising, and setting up events.
Mentorship & Support
Peer Mentorship Committee – Sophie Buysse (chair): The Peer Mentorship Committee leads mentorship pairing for incoming students, plans at least one Peer Mentor Program event per semester, and manages the mentorship meeting form and ensures mentors meet monthly with mentees. The committee chair is responsible for annual presentations at graduate student recruitment and orientation.
Grad support committee – members are anonymous: The graduate support committee is responsible for responding to any concerns. These concerns may be submitted through the graduate student support form(see below), through email, or verbally in-person. This committee is also responsible for providing graduate students with relevant support and acting as a liaison between graduate students, the department chair, and other faculty/staff. This committee may also generate resources to increase support for graduate students including creating updates to the PLB handbook, resources for labs, etc.
Grad student support form: This form is a way for students to request support from the department for themselves or another graduate student or provide documentation of improper or problematic behavior by another member of the plant biology community. This can include anything from requesting help to have a difficult conversation or reporting abusive behavior by a PI.
GSO Positions
T-shirt Coordinator – Maddy Creach: The PLB GSO designs and prints t-shirts for the department once per year. This position organizes design submissions, collects votes for the favored design, and coordinates with the t-shirt supplier and GSO Treasurer to order the t-shirts.
Grad Lounge Soda & GSO Meeting Snacks Coordinator – Maya Wilson Brown: The PLB Grad Lounge is kept stocked with cans of soda that can be purchased by PLB or non-PLB members. This provides a funding source for the GSO. GSO meetings are accompanied with snacks and any extra snacks are left in the Grad Lounge with the intent of being consumed by PLB graduate students. This position coordinates with the GSO Treasurer to keep the Grad Lounge stocked with soda, return the soda cans for deposit as needed, and purchase the snacks for the monthly GSO meetings.
KBS Liaison(s) to the PLB GSO – Robin Waterman: The Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) is an important component of the PLB department and a number of PLB graduate students reside at KBS. The KBS Liaison sets up online streaming of GSO meetings to facilitate inclusion of PLB graduate students stationed at KBS. In addition, this position relays suggestions and updates between Plant Biology students at KBS and those on the main campus.
Representative to the CNS Student Advisory Committee – Hannah Cushman: The CNS Student Advisory Council (SAC) is an organization whose purpose is to advise the Dean on issues concerning undergraduate and graduate students within the college and to promote the interests of these students. Responsibilities for this position include going to one meeting per month with the Dean, Associate Deans, and Assistant Dean of the CNS and a graduate representative from each CNS department.
Representative to the Graduate Employees Union – Ethan Rose: The Graduate Employees Union (GEU) gives graduate students the support to work to the best of their abilities, holds the university accountable for its actions, and ensures that graduate employees will be treated like professionals. Responsibilities of the position include facilitating GEU resource utilization if anyone has a grievance about work and/or feel that the university is not fulfilling our union contract. There are bi-weekly meetings with the GEU, but the PLB GEU representative is not expected to attend every one.
Representative to the Council of Graduate Students – Brandon Webster: The Council of Graduate Students (COGS) is the authorized student government for all graduate and professional students at Michigan State University. The full council meets once per month to discuss issues related to graduate and professional students. COGS organizes campus wide events for graduate and professional students and also funds student events and research. Responsibilities of the position include attending the monthly meeting, working with the Social Chair(s) and Treasurer to obtain COGS funding for GSO events, and distributing COGS news and event information to PLB graduate students.
Representative to the PLB Department Advisory Council – Megan Brown: The Department Advisory Council (DAC) meets once per month to discuss departmental concerns and provide feedback to the department Chair. The DAC representative attends the monthly meetings, relays graduate student concerns to the DAC, and reports to the GSO on DAC activities.
Representative to the PLB Graduate Committee – Madison Plunkert and Maya Wilson Brown: The PLB Graduate Committee proposes changes to the PLB graduate program, including changes to requirements concerning student evaluations and comprehensive exams. In addition, this committee reviews applications to the PLB graduate program and recommends prospective students for fellowship funding from the Plant Science Fellowship committee, CNS, and university fellowships. Responsibilities for this position include attending committee meetings, relaying concerns and responses between the Graduate Director and the GSO, contributing to discussions and decisions concerning admittance of new students, and participating as needed in Plant Sciences recruitment events.
Representative to the PLB Seminar Committee – you? This position is open for 2024: The Seminar Committee selects speakers for the PLB Seminar Series for the upcoming academic year, including one student-invited speaker. This position organizes the student nominations and votes for the student-invited speaker and organizes the graduate student and post-doc lunches with the speakers. This position is also a voting member of the PLB seminar committee and will assist the committee in finding speakers, organizing sessions, and providing feedback.
Representative to the PLB DEI committee – Brue Martin and Cathy Mercado: The DEI committee proposed department initiatives to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion. Previous initiatives have included a climate survey, seminars, signage, and social events. The student representatives attend monthly meetings and assist in planning events and initiatives. They also communicate meeting outcomes between the GSO and the DEI committee.
Last Updated: 3/4/2024