The Iowa State University Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) met Monday, electing a new Senate Information Officer, college chairs, a Student Government senator and approved funding.
Speaker Laura Smythe, University Ombuds, began the meeting with a presentation on the Ombuds program at ISU. Smythe’s role is aimed at resolving conflicts in a confidential manner, independent from known university processes.
“Most people have never even heard of the Ombuds, let alone seen me before,” Smythe said. “I am designed to be a parallel option to all of the formal options that you have available to you when things aren’t going well.”
Smythe elaborated on how the ISU Ombuds program could be beneficial to graduate and professional students, and might seek to give professional guidance in navigating conflicts with professors, principal investigators or even shared office spaces.
The meeting transitioned to executive reports led by GPSS President Muhammad Azhan.
Effective Sept. 18, Dean Bill Graves stepped down as leader of the graduate college following eight years serving as dean. Heather Greenlee, previously associate dean, has been appointed interim dean for the college.
Azhan and Vice President Mayyda Mukhtar attended the September meeting of the Iowa Board of Regents, where they announced that the request for an additional $1 million in the state budget had been approved.
The next meeting of the presidential search committee is scheduled for Oct. 6.
“It’s going to be a big, lengthy meeting,” Azhan said. “Hopefully, by November, we will have a new president for ISU.”
Other reports followed with information on previous events. Senate Information Officer Rakesh Salian stepped down from his executive position and Azhan announced the election details for the meeting.
Other reports followed with a final report from Mkpe Kekung on Student Government.
“Of particular interest to GPSS was a funding bill for a comedian for homecoming 2025,” Kekung said. “We opposed the bill, but it actually passed. Unfortunately, for reasons not clearly defined, I believe based on logistics, the whole plans were actually set aside for now.”
Upcoming events are Jack Trice Remembrance Day and Homecoming the week of Oct. 19.
The meeting moved towards the seating of college chairs in unfinished business from the last meeting.
Previously, Michael Carroll was elected to the chair nominee of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Shabnam Hayat Gheibi to the College of Design. A motion was made to end elections with the five remaining open positions.
After nearly 50 minutes of discussion, the following college chairs were elected by digital vote to the bill, which was approved by the Senate.
- Engineering – Habeeb O Odebiyi
- Health and Human Sciences – Madhyami Deshmukh
- Veterinary Medicine – Katrina Zaccone
- Liberal Arts and Sciences – Selina Asare
- Ivy College of Business – Akanksha Koshti
Each chair will receive a $1,000 stipend for the academic year.
Next on the agenda was the special election for the recently vacated Senate Information Officer executive position.
Nominees Muntaha Ateeq, Ph.D. in agricultural and biosystems engineering, Liujing Wang, aerospace engineering and Himani Kohli, computer engineering, presented their experience and anticipated contributions to the position.
“I think that GPSS needs to have very engaging outreach, and to create that presence, I think I can be the right fit,” Ateeq said.
“I want to do something for GPSS and for the graduate students,” Wang said.
A divided vote between candidates with no majority led to a second round of digital voting. The final vote elected Wang as Senate Information Officer, and the bill was accepted as a whole.
A Senate bill to amend and ratify the organization’s constitution was approved with unanimous approval, but requires approval at two consecutive Senate sessions. A special committee reviewed and proposed changes to clarify officer duties, incorporate new positions and structures.
A motion to adjourn was heard and objected to, first discussing uniform funding. With unanimous approval, the Senate approved funding for GPSS polo uniforms and nametags, at a cost of $2395.25.
Another motion to adjourn was heard, with an objection to discuss funding for an allocations request of $300 for the Cognitive Area Psychology Students (CAPS) organization. The bill was passed with unanimous approval.
The second-to-last bill on the agenda was the special election for a representative to serve in the Graduate Faculty Cabinet. Originally, with 10 nominations, each nominee removed their name, leaving only the name of an absent senator. The bill was tabled.
The final bill was the seating of a GPSS senator at large to Student Government. As president of GPSS, Ahzan must step down as an at large member of Student Government. Lucky Onyekwelu-Udoka, the sole present candidate, was elected by unanimous approval.
A third motion to adjourn was heard, with an objection to first take roll call. A final adjournment ended the nearly three-hour meeting.
The next GPSS meeting is scheduled for Dec. 1.
