BE Board:Meeting minutes/10/06/2005

For current website see begradboard.mit.edu

Date: 10/06/2005
Time: 12:00pm
Place: 56-614

Annual Survey

• Originally next Tuesday to report on Saturday, change to Wednesday
• Data processing should not be a problem
• Diana will send out the email to invite people to take the survey, multiple emails

Graduate Program Review

• Last Friday – Diana and Barry presented a summary of the ten responses, and the results of last years survey, results are posted on the wiki if anyone is interested
• Email specific topics to the board and request feedback

Student Awards

• Recommendation from Doug’s first BATs talk
• Discussion started on the wiki
• Some of the awards are feasible, such as posters at the retreat
• Go back to doug with a few initial awards and potentially
• Megan P – awards for TAing
• Jason – may be easier once the be major is implemented,
• Can we award faculty? Can we promote things which already exist, can we also do the TAing nomination at institute level
• Champaign at the institute level for BE professors

Student Directory

• Wiki feedback seems pretty positive
• Going to contact the institute about necessary permissions
• Add wiki page and let people add themselves initially if they choose to – not yet
• Objective is to have lab contact, year of entering etc…

First-year representative role/elections

• Reprise what we have discussed about the position last meeting
• Intend to take nominations after this meeting and arrange elections
• Nomination by email and then elections will be decided

BE board and BMES Interactions

• With undergrad major and the undergrad students may need to interact more
• ASA – confused about the coexistence of BMES and BE board
• Need to send a letter to clear up the confusion
• BMES will blanket the undergraduate majors affiliated with all bio related majors
• BMES want to have a mixer between undergrads and grads
• Concerns with poor turnout at softball game
• Let BMES members to coordinate activities with the social chairs

Academics

• Advisor-advisee events
  • Advisee – advisor study break – October 19th if advisors are not caught up in ICSB, move to Oct 18th
• ISS
  • Industrial seminar – bioethics
  • Steve Tannenbaum requested changing – told to ask other professors
  • Danielle – Zach Shriver, patent law, nature editor scientific publishing
  • Poll people who show up at the seminar -

Social Committee

• TGIF
  • Friday Oct 28th, indoor BBQ, Halloween theme 11:30- 1:30
  • Need to cross schedule with the ISS
  • Planning a brewery tour with Al for October TGIF – 21st of Oct
  • Harpoon may be an option instead of Sam Adams, preferences?
  • Danielle – harpoon tour, basically just sitting at the bar drinking…
• Other
  • Contact GSC about the grad ring for BE ring, social event at the muddy, be this fall

First-year dinner evaluation

• Receipts to Mariann
• Request from a first year for buffet restaurants in the future

Academic career mentoring events

• The workshop mentoring events, only one event last year
• Described on the wiki
• Discussion page, first meeting on the 17th of October, formal announcement will go out

Community service

• Weekend day or a weeknight at 5pm?
• Comminuty Serving
  • October 19th evening
  • Make meals and deliver them to people who are house bound
  • In Roxbury, need to drive there, two cars
• Can food drive
  • doesn’t necessary require a time commitment
  • class competition
• Habitat for humanity – 7am-4:30pm, weekend in November, December

Diversity

• Interlab Lunch
  • First interlab lunch two days ago
  • Purpose is to get people to get to know each other before trying bigger
• Caribean lunch on Nov 17th
• Diversity meeting later today to decide how else to celebrate the caribean culture
• December – presentation about being a minority alters the career path

GSC Rep

• Katrina relief – 15,000 dollars to support projects
• Past a resolution – to review graduate student diversity across campus
• Want reps to talk about things from single department, reps to help department heads to be able to bring these issues up

IM Sports

• Order shirts – old design or new design?
• Competition to redesign IM T-shirts

Treasurer

• Email Jordan your expenses, Mariann get the receipt
• Social – last few were more expensive than the average
• Jordan will email overall budget to individual groups

UG representative

• Dinners with grad and undergrad students
• BE180 and BE109 – course development on the wiki if you are interested in checking out what is going on
• Short talks from the professors about the new courses being added to the ciriculum and how things fit into the overall
• General talks about course development and education in general
• Maybe put into open Bats slots, open BE seminar slots
• Talk to Reshma about incorporating with academic seminars