Council of Graduate Students
at The Ohio State University

CGS Officer Position FAQs

Officer Job Duties, Expectations, & FAQs

This page is under construction, we will be updating it with information and additional details as we craft them. 

President

Job Duties (As Outlined in CGS Governing Documents)

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

The Presidency (from the perspective of former CGS Presidents)

  • What's your average weekly/monthly work breakdown (hours-wise, both holistically and broken out for different job duties like CGS meetings, role specific meetings, different job duties)?

  • What does your day-to-day work in your role look like?

  • What are common myths or misconceptions about your role?

  • What's the biggest challenge in your role? 

  • What's your favorite part of this role?

  • What's a piece of advice you would've given when you first started your role?

Vice President

Job Duties (As Outlined in CGS Governing Documents)

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

The Vice Presidency (from the perspective of former CGS Vice Presidents)

  • What's your average weekly/monthly work breakdown (hours-wise, both holistically and broken out for different job duties like CGS meetings, role specific meetings, different job duties)?

  • What does your day-to-day work in your role look like?

    • "Much of the day-to-day work is emailing, project management, and mentorship. You're working on the Hayes Forum year round, and much of that is following the well-established timeline for when things need to be done for applications, evaluations, planning, and running the forum. You're also handling much of the same for elections to be sure that positions are filled on time and in accordance with the bylaws. You spend a ton of time implenting systems for tracking available seats, contacting departments with openings, mentoring delegates to be sure they're successful in their committee work and their advocacy, and making sure that the wheels of CGS keep turning."

  • What are common myths or misconceptions about your role?

    • "You're just an assistant to the President of CGS, and that you don't 'do much'. The VPship is a fully-fledged role in and of itself. You don't answer to the President, they aren't your boss. You're busy doing all the things that you're in charge of to make sure that the other officers, chairs, and delegates are supported and are able to do their work. Just as in the same way these people are all doing their work so that you can do yours. You can't just sit back and wait to be told what to do in the VP role, you have to be a self starter and able to meet the challenges and role head-on."

  • What's the biggest challenge in your role? 

    •  

  • What's your favorite part of this role?

    • "The Hayes Forum, easily. It's a huge stressful task. But it is incredible getting to help 200+ grads and postdocs share their work on such a large stage. It's CGS's largest and longest-runnig event, and getting to run it is a wild ride. It's a great learning experience, and there's always more to improve and grow from."

  • What's a piece of advice you would've given when you first started your role?

    • ""

Treasurer

Job Duties (As Outlined in CGS Governing Documents)

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

The Treasurership (from the perspective of former CGS Treasurers)

What's your average weekly/monthly work breakdown (hours-wise, both holistically and broken out for different job duties like CGS meetings, role specific meetings, different job duties)?

  • "4 hours of Treasurer, 1 hour of RTA"

  • "Treasurer: 2hrs/wk of meetings, 1hr/wk of emails, 1hr/wk everything else (e.g. updating budget, signing/verifying RFPs, discussing committee budgets & programming)"

  • What does your day-to-day work in your role look like?

    • "A lot of emails, either about budgets, programming, the RTA, or organization logistics"

  • What are common myths or misconceptions about your role?

    • "That the Treasurer just does 'money' stuff. I regularly advocate for policy change (e.g. academic regalia project), track historical data (e.g. RTA awards & budget expenses), and edit the CGS website. Additionally, the Treasurer works very closely with the other officers, helping to ensure the Hayes Research Forum, the Career Development Grant, and Presidential initiatives are financially feasible, sustainable, and effective."

  • What's the biggest challenge in your role? 

    • "The annual budget; it's the single most important piece of legislation delegated to the Treasurer role, and it's a guideline for all delegates throughout the year."

  • What's your favorite part of this role?
    • "Advocating for more funds to CGS projects and programming (especially because I get to describe all of our great programming)
  • "What's a piece of advice you would've given when you first started your role?
    • "It's ok not to know everything about university business & fiscal policy; there's a LOT of information and, even after two years in the role, I still feel like I've just scratched the surface."
    • "Be vigilant. The Treasurer tends to be in a highly data-driven position, primarily using historical and other data to predict how our expenses compare to our annual budget, and ultimately how annual expenses compare year over year."

Secretary

Job Duties (As Outlined in CGS Governing Documents)

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.

The Secreatariat (from the perspective of former CGS Secretaries)

  • What's your average weekly/monthly work breakdown (hours-wise, both holistically and broken out for different job duties like CGS meetings, role specific meetings, different job duties)?

  • What does your day-to-day work in your role look like?

  • What are common myths or misconceptions about your role?

  • What's the biggest challenge in your role? 

  • What's your favorite part of this role?

  • What's a piece of advice you would've given when you first started your role?