New Council Focus on Grassroots Engagement

Over the last few weeks, the GSA Elected Council has been working to strengthen member engagement. During its recent retreat, Council unanimously agreed to several key initiatives aimed at improving faculty and departmental engagement, supporting a stronger presence beyond Main Campus, and ensuring that all members have opportunities to provide feedback within the GSA.

Recurring and Predictable Town Halls

Council is building on past practices by establishing recurring town halls with members on the last Tuesday of each month during the fall and winter semesters. This will also include an Annual General Meeting (AGM), with further details to be announced in the coming weeks. This plan will at least double the number of town halls required under the current GSA bylaws.

All DGAs are strongly encouraged to appoint a representative (similar to previous GRC appointments) to attend these meetings, provide feedback, share information, and report back to their respective groups.

While DGAs are encouraged to send appointees, all graduate students are welcome and encouraged to participate in these discussions and engagement opportunities.

A Town Hall will also be held as part of the lead-up to Stampede Week. Be sure to check the GSA website in the coming weeks for additional details.

Faculty and Off-Campus Liaisons

The GSA has delegated members of the Elected Council to serve as official liaisons to various constituencies across campus. This includes the appointment of President Jacob Amengor as the official liaison to the Foothills and Spy Hill campuses, while Officer-at-Large Saloumeh Talebloo will serve as the liaison for the Downtown Campus.

These liaisons will act as conduits for information-sharing and as points of contact for faculties and campuses to provide feedback on advocacy priorities and the strategic direction of the Association.

The faculty liaison assignments are as follows:

• Faculty of Graduate Studies — Jacob Amengor
• School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape — Saloumeh Talebloo
• Faculty of Arts — Saloumeh Talebloo
• Faculty of Fine Arts — Saloumeh Talebloo
• Cumming School of Medicine — Jacob Amengor
• Haskayne School of Business — Lily Jiaqiu Cai
• Faculty of Kinesiology — Senyo Okyere
• Faculty of Law — Tasnia Ibnat
• Faculty of Nursing — Lily Jiaqiu Cai
• Schulich School of Engineering — Tasnia Ibnat
• Faculty of Science — Senyo Okyere
• Faculty of Social Work — Lily Jiaqiu Cai
• Faculty of Veterinary Medicine — Jacob Amengor
• Werklund School of Education — Lily Jiaqiu Cai
• School of Public Policy — Saloumeh Talebloo

With these liaison roles in place, individual student affairs matters and labour relations matters will continue to be overseen by Lily Jiaqiu Cai and Brody Stuart-Verner, respectively.

Improved Accountability for Committees

As part of the new bylaws, core committees responsible for the operational direction of the GSA will now be chaired by a member of the Elected Council, generally one of the Officers-at-Large. The following committee chair appointments have been made:

• Chair of the Governance Committee — Senyo Okyere
• Chair of the Finance and Services Committee — Senyo Okyere
• Chair of the Awards Committee — Saloumeh Talebloo
• Chair of the Student Experience and Engagement Committee — Tasnia Ibnat

The goal of this structure is to streamline workloads, improve accountability for committee deliverables, and strengthen student-led direction within the organization.

If you are interested in serving on any of these committees, please visit the GSA Volunteer Opportunities website.

In the coming weeks, Council will continue working to refine labour engagement, re-envision student engagement events, improve methods for triaging student issues, and develop office open houses to increase student engagement and involvement.