Council of Graduate Students
at The Ohio State University

Run for Officer

The CGS application period for 2025 - 2026 Officers are now open!

Applications for President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary will be accepted from Friday Feburary 14th at 3:30pm until Friday February 28th at 11:59pm. Applications will not be accpeted outside of this window, in accordance with CGS bylaws and elections procedures. 

Application

Before You Apply

  • Any graduate student who is eligible to serve in the Council of Graduate Students (as outlined by the governing documents) is eligible to run for office, regardless of current membership in CGS (in other words, you do not need to be a current member or former member of CGS in order to run).
  • No student may run for more than one position in a single election.
  • To nominate yourself, please complete an officer application. To nominate a fellow graduate student, please send the name and email address of the nominee to Vice President Katie Conner.280.
  • Officer candidates MUST be able to attend the elections meeting in order to be eligible for election.
  • We STRONGLY encourage candidates to reach out to the current officer for the position they are interested in, in order to better learn the role and expectations.
  • As per CGS's bylaws, only those who are voting members of CGS (delegates and committee chairs) are eligible to vote for Elected Executive Officers. Non voting members are not permitted to vote in the officer elections. 

Applying for Officerships

Elected officer positions that should apply using the officer application include President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary.

For your qualification documents please upload any supporting documents you would like the voting body to see with your application (e.g., cover letter, cv, resume, letter of recommendation). A resume/CV and a cover letter are highly recommended. A maximum of 5 single-sided pages will be allowed. Any documents greater than 5 pages will be cut off at the fifth page manually when the meeting packet for the elections meeting is assembled. There will be no exceptions to this policy. All supporting documents must be compiled into one single PDF file.

We also (strongly) encourage you to submit your profile photo and a short biography which will be used on the website for those individuals who are elected.

Tips on Crafting your Application (from former Officers)

  • What general advice would you offer for officer applicants/those running for officer?
    • "Reach out to the incumbent position & read the CGS bylaws."
    • "Definitely reading the governing documents, and talking to whoever is in the role currently. It's really helpful seeing what the position actually calls for, and being able to ask questions to whoever is doing the job currently. It helped me write a more targeted cover letter!"
  • What advice would you give someone who was interested in multiple positions, since you can only run for one in a given election cycle? 
    • "Spend time understanding the needs and expectations of each role, reflect on your strengths and limitations, the compensation & time commitment for the roles, and whether the role aligns with your future professional interests."
    • "I thought really hard about my strengths and weaknesses professionally, and compared that with the office role descriptions. I decided based on what I thought I was well-suited for, and also based on the experiences I wanted to have in the role to help me better grow as a scholar and advocate."
  • What advice would you give for preparing for the in-person election, speech, and election Q&A time? 
    • "If have been in CGS, the delegate body will ask you questions about why you want this role vs. senator, delegate, or other positions, your history in the organization, possible programs/responsibilities as the new officer.
    • "If never been in CGS before, additional questions concerning the candidate's understanding of how CGS works, adherence/belief in shared governance, experiences outside of CGS and how those will help in your role to advocate for grad students."

    • "If you run for a position but are not elected to a role, we still want you to be a part of us! It will always be to the organization's benefit to have grad students invested in leadership, shared governance, advocacy, and programming in any capacity."

Tips for preparing to be balancing officer roles with your own work as a student (and appointments if you are a GA elsewhere)?"Recognize there are times when you're 'on' for the role, and times when you're not. Maybe reflect on what the minimum requirements are for the position if the role can't be a priority for a week? Ask for help from other officers, work as a team to operate the organization, especially at meetings."

Job Duties

The below information lists the "basic" job descriptions and duties of each officership, as detailed in the governing documents of CGS. For more details, descriptions, and perspective from former CGS officers on these roles, please see the "CGS Officer FAQs" page. 

President

As laid out in the CGS Constitution (Section 8.3) the President's duties are as follows:

  • 8.3.A   The President will preside over all General Body and Executive Board meetings of the Council as the Chair.
  • 8.3.B   The President will select the time and place of all regular and special meetings of the Council. All meeting locations must be ADA accessible and hybrid capable. The President must inform the graduate student body in writing of the time and place chosen for each regular meeting of a semester by no later than the tenth day of that semester.
  • 8.3.C   The President will serve as a liaison between CGS and the Graduate School, the University administration, and the Ohio State University Board of Trustees.
  • 8.3.D   The President will serve as an ex-officio member of the University Senate and its Steering Committee.
  • 8.3.E   The President must appoint a Parliamentarian. This appointment will be subject to approval by simple majority vote by the Executive Board. The parliamentarian may be removed at the initiative of the President, or by two Executive Board members. This removal is subject to a majority vote of the Executive Board.
  • 8.3.F   The President may appoint a Chief of Staff if they so choose. This appointment will be subject to approval by simple majority vote by the Executive Board. The Chief of Staff may be removed at the initiative of the President, or by two Executive Board members. This removal is subject to a majority vote of the Executive Board.
  • 8.3.G   The President will be responsible for implementing and enacting all decisions of the Council and will fulfill other duties as directed by the consensus of the council and the Executive board, as needed and able.

Additional relevant info related to compensation and position details:

  • This officership is a .5 FTE GAship through the Office of Student Life
  • This officership is eligible to use a CGS-owned "Departmental A" parking pass for CGS business

Vice President

As laid out in the CGS Constitution (Section 8.4) the Vice President's duties are as follows:

  • 8.4.A   The Vice President is responsible for overseeing and maintaining the records of appointments to all University committees, Senate committees, and shared governance committees on which the Council has representation, as well as to all internal CGS committees. These records must be regularly updated and uploaded to the CGS Student Live archives for proper record keeping.
  • 8.4.B   The Vice President will Chair the Edward F. Hayes Advanced Research Forum Organizing Committee, which showcases the innovative and exemplary research being conducted by Ohio State graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.
  • 8.4.C   The Vice President will recruit Delegate candidates, review Delegate eligibility, oversee Delegate elections, and maintain records of all Delegate seats. These records must be regularly updated and uploaded to the CGS Student Life archives for proper record keeping. During recruitment, Vice President must contact staff in every program to ensure that all graduate students are aware of membership opportunities within the Council.
  • 8.4.D   The Vice President will oversee and serve as Chair during all elections (except in those cases where the Vice President is running for re-election, for further details on procedures in these cases, please see Article 3, Section 3.3.E of the CGS Bylaws and Standing Rules).
  • 8.4.E   The Vice President, in cooperation with additional relevant officers, will regularly upload meeting minutes, meeting packets, legislation, budgets, reports, and agendas and additional appropriate documentation to the CGS website, so that the documents are publicly accessible.
  • 8.4.F   In the absence of the President, the Vice President will preside over meetings of the Council.
  • 8.4.G   The Vice President will fulfill other duties necessary for maintaining the operation of the Council as directed by the Council and the Executive Board, as needed and able

Additional relevant info related to compensation and position details:

  • This Officership is a .5 FTE GAship through the Office of Student Life
  • This officership is eligible to use a CGS-owned "Departmental A" parking pass for CGS business

Treasurer

As laid out in the CGS Constitution (Section 8.5) the Treasurer's duties are as follows:

  • 8.5.A   The Treasurer will handle all finances of the Council and maintain an accurate record of its financial status. These duties include ensuring CGS's compliance with all fiscal policies of the Council, the University, the State of Ohio, and Federally (as applicable in each of these realms).
  • 8.5.B   The Treasurer will be responsible for creating an annual budget for the Council, and will seek input from the President and vice President in the process of doing so.
  • 8.5.C   The Treasurer will be responsible for updating the CGS Financial Guidelines Bylaws Addendum in order to keep it in line with Council, University, State, and Federal policy. It will be checked and updated yearly, on the same cycle as the creation of the annual CGS budget.
  • 8.5.D   The Treasurer will have the first right of refusal to oversee and chair the Edward J. Ray Travel Award for Scholarship and Service, which honors substantial commitment to service and helps graduate students to pursue their scholarly goals across the globe by financially aiding them when attending distant conferences and presentations.
  • 8.5.E   The Treasurer will have the power to appoint a Deputy Treasurer. This appointment is subject to approval by simple majority vote by the Executive Board. (Further details on this appointment can be found in Article 3, Section 3.4.C of the CGS Bylaws & Standing Rules.) The Deputy Treasurer may be removed at the initiative of the Treasurer, or by two Executive Board members. This removal is subject to a majority vote of the Executive Board.
  • 8.5.F   In the absence of the President and Vice President, the Treasurer will preside over meetings of the Council.
  • 8.5.G   The Treasurer will fulfil other duties necessary for maintaining the operation of the Council as directed by the Council and the Executive Board, as needed and able.

Additional relevant info related to compensation and position details:

  • This officership is eligible to use a CGS-owned "Departmental A" parking pass for CGS business

Secretary

As laid out in the CGS Constitution (Section 8.6) the Secretary's duties are as follows:

  • 8.6.A   The Secretary will be responsible for writing and (in cooperation with the Vice President) publicly publishing minutes of all meetings of the Council and the Executive Board, for (in cooperation with the Vice President) maintaining records of legislation, and for communicating announcements and information to the Delegate body. All minutes and legislation must be publicly published within one week of approval by the Council via the methods indicated throughout the CGS Combined Bylaws and Standing Rules.
  • 8.6.B   The Secretary will be responsible for ensuring that the Constitution, Combined Bylaws and Standing rules, and Code of Ethics & Values are updated at the end of every Academic Year to reflect any and all amendments made during that time.
  • 8.6.C   The Secretary will have first right of refusal to oversee and chair the Career Development Award, which encourages graduate students to prepare for placement into their chosen field and provides an opportunity to defray associated costs.
  • 8.6.D   The Secretary will be responsible for ensuring that the Constitution, Combined Bylaws and Standing Rules, and Code of Ethics & Values are updated at the end of every Academic Year to reflect any and all amendments made during that time.
  • 8.6.E   The Secretary will have the power to appoint a Deputy Secretary. This appointment is subject to approval by simple majority vote by the Executive Board. (Further details on this appointment can be found in 3.4.D of the CGS Bylaws & Standing Rules.) The Deputy Secretary may be removed at the initiative of the Secretary, or by two Executive Board members. This removal is subject to a majority vote of the Executive Board.
  • 8.6.F   If the Secretary is absent from a meeting, their duties will be assumed by the Deputy Secretary (if appointed), Chief of Staff (if appointed), or the Treasurer, in that order. If none of these persons are available, the Secretary will work with the rest of the Executive Board to identify an alternate note taker.
  • 8.6.G   In the absence of the President , Vice President, and Treasurer, the Secretary will preside over meetings of the Council.
  • 8.6.H   The Secretary will fulfill other duties other duties necessary for maintaining the operation of the Council as directed by the Council and the Executive Board, as needed and able.

Additional relevant info related to compensation and position details:

  • This officership is eligible to use a CGS-owned "Departmental A" parking pass for CGS business.