GPSC names past president to Board (main feature) Summary: The Graduate and Professional Student Council named physics graduate student Rob Saunders the new Young Trustee Monday night, ending the final round of the selection process. The position is one of the highest honors bestowed on a student by the graduate student community.
The Graduate and Professional Student Council named Rob Saunders the new Young Trustee Tuesday night.
A fifth-year physics graduate student and two-time GPSC president, Saunders defeated professional students Justin Klein and Omar Rashid for the prestigious position.
As Young Trustee, Saunders will serve as a member of the Board for two years and will become a voting member during his second year.
“The process has been incredibly humbling, and I have met a lot of very talented people,” Saunders said. “I look forward to working with [senior and fellow Young Trustee] Anthony Vitarelli over the next couple of years, and I hope we can see some very exciting things happen.”
Each candidate presented a five-minute speech followed by ten minutes of questioning from the GPSC General Assembly.
Saunders focused on topics ranging from the future of Central Campus to overall academic growth at the University. He also mentioned the importance of focusing on current students’ experiences and being receptive to their needs.
Saunders said he is committed to making personal connections with both the undergraduate leaders and faculty.
“I hope to get to know people, keep an ear open and talk to people to find out what the issues are,” he said.
Current GPSC president and fifth-year graduate student in neurobiology Heather Dean said she fully supports Saunders.
“He has taught me everything I know [about GPSC] and has been a mentor,” Dean said. “He has been great in representing us.”
Saunders graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in physics from William and Mary College and is currently a student representative on a subcommittee of the Board of Trustees.
When he was GPSC president, Saunders restructured the council’s charter and created GPSC News, an e-mail communications service between GPSC and the graduate schools. He hopes to graduate in December and begin a career in science policy.
In other business:
GPSC voted to allocate a total of $10,650 to various groups for use during the spring semester.
The council also voted to charter 20 new graduate and professional student groups, increasing the number of student groups to 105.
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