Council of Graduate Students
at The Ohio State University

Run for Officer or Apply for a Chairship

The CGS Special Election for Secretary for 2024 - 2025 is currently accepting applications!

In accordance with CGS bylaws, we will continue to take applications and nominations until an eligible candidate (or eligible candidates) apply and an election is able to be held. Please see below for further details on the role, the process, and more.

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 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.

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 or 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 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.

Job Duties

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
  • This officership has historically served as the CGS appointee to the University Senate Athletic Council

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.