The Graduate and Professional Student Council and University administrators gathered to celebrate the group's Graduate and Professional Student Organization of the Year Award Tuesday evening in the Westbrook Building of the Divinity School.
GPSC received the award Nov. 1 at a national conference for the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, held at the University of Minnesota.
President Richard Brodhead, Provost Peter Lange and Jacqueline Looney, senior associate dean for graduate programs, joined in honoring the group for its achievements. The award is given by NAGPS for outstanding service of its community at the local and national level.
GPSC has sent at least one representative to the National Conference for the last three years. In February, four people participated in the Legislative Action Days in Washington, D.C., where they met with legislators to discuss pertinent higher education issues.
GPSC also has two board members who serve on NAGPS-GPSC President Alethea Duncan, a fourth-year Ph. D. candidate in chemistry, and Gautham Pandiyan, a Ph. D. candidate in molecular cancer biology.
GPSC was recognized for advocating increases in graduate student financial aid and for improved health care insurance coverage provided by Duke. In part because of GPSC's efforts, graduate students now receive full health insurance coverage. Its future plans include expanding this plan state-wide and holding an Action Day to lobby for mandatory health insurance for all schools in North Carolina.
Looney and Lange both emphasized the importance of GPSC in creating a participative administrative body and making sure that students' voices are heard in how decisions are made in Duke.
"GPSC is very engaged and is strategically very important in enabling the administration to do a better job," said Kemel Dawkins, vice president for campus services. "It is fabulous that they have won the award."
The general assembly held after the celebration was focused on providing better transportation services in and around Duke's campus. Dawkins came as a guest speaker to listen to the representatives' concerns, criticisms and suggestions.
Besides the general assemblies held twice a month, GPSC also has a representative in 35 university committees, Duncan said. There are more than 7,100 students in Duke's graduate and professional schools who are represented by GPSC, she said.
"Students and administrators mutually share information through GPSC," said Laura Johnson, GPSC communications coordinator and a second-year Ph. D. candidate in evolutionary anthropology. "The president [Duncan] personally meets with a lot of people on a regular basis to raise, challenge and discuss new or current issues."
She added that GPSC hopes to continue its works in advocating for graduate and professional students' interests in various areas.
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