The Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA), the student government for graduate and professional students at Penn State University Park, conducted elections last Wednesday through Thursday (March 30th-31st). Positions contested included those for President of the Graduate Student Body, Vice President, Graduate School Student Faculty Senator, Graduate Council Student Caucus members, academic college delegates for the GPSA Assembly, and graduate and professional student UPAC representatives. GPSA elections are conducted by single-transferable vote under the Wright system, with a minimum of either 3 votes or the quota under the Wright system to be elected, whichever is greater.

Jada Quinland, a master’s student in the School of International Affairs, was elected the graduate and professional student body president. Kailey Elrod, a first year Penn State Law student, was elected vice president. Full results can be found below:

Executive Branch

President – Jada Quinland
Vice President – Kailey Elrod
Graduate School Faculty Senator – Savanah Jackson

Graduate Council

Andrew Miles (Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs)
Emanuel Chirayath (College of Engineering)
Tara L. Pickens (College of Agricultural Sciences)

Academic College Assembly Delegates

Agricultural Sciences
Sailesh Sigdel

Arts and Architecture
Nusrat Tabassum

Education
Minyoung Gil
Rola Tarek
Sean Hembrick

Engineering
Arnab Chatterjee
Tanveer Ahmed

Liberal Arts
Kenneth Gatten III

School of International Affairs
Justin Baker

Penn State Law
Alejandra Amendola
Avery McLean
Dale Roeck

UPAC Representatives
Tasneem Tariq
Hamidul Haque

Congratulations to all those elected

With the close of the intent to run deadline, the GPSA would like to announce the following candidates whose names will be included on the ballot for the 2022 elections to be held from 12:00AM March 30 to 11:59PM on March 31. Those still interested in running that did not submit an intent to run form can still run as a write-in candidate. All write-in candidates need a minimum of 3 votes to qualify.

More information including candidate statements and websites can be found at https://gpsa.psu.edu/candidates

Voting can be done at this link https://orgcentral.psu.edu/submitter/election/start/534691 or tinyurl.com/GPSAElections22

President

Lawrence Miller (Law)
Jada Quinland (International Affairs)
Patrick Berton (Law)

Vice President

Kailey Elrod (Law)

Executive Secretary

Frankie Urrutia-Smith (Liberal Arts)

Treasurer

Leah Fogelsanger (Health and Human Development)

Graduate School Faculty Senator

Annie Everett (Education)
Savanah Jackson (International Affairs)

Graduate Council Student Caucus (5 seats)

Andrew Miles (IGDP)
Emanuel Chirayath (Engineering)
Tara L. Pickens (Agricultural Sciences)
Ram Neupane (Agricultural Sciences)

Assembly Delegates by College

Agricultural Sciences (2 seats)

Sailesh Sigdel

Arts and Architecture

Tabassum Nusrat

Business

No declared candidates, write-in candidates only

Communications

No declared candidates, write-in candidates only

Earth and Mineral Sciences (2 seats)

No declared candidates, write-in candidates only

Education (3 seats)

Minyoung Gil
Sean Hembrick
Rola Tarek

Engineering (5 seats)

Arnab Chatterjee
Tanveer Ahmed

Health and Human Development (2 seats)

No declared candidates, write-in candidates only

Information Sciences and Technology

No declared candidates, write-in candidates only

Intercollege Degree Program (2 seats)

No declared candidates, write-in candidates only

International Affairs

Justin Baker
Ian Tennison

Law (3 seats)

Avery McLean
Breanna McCann
Zachary Shepherd
Shakhzoda Tuychieva
Dale Roeck
Rachel Jenkin
Ryan Corbin
Alejandra Amendola

Liberal Arts (3 seats)

Kenneth Gatten III

Nursing

Olayemi Adekeye

Science (3 seats)

No declared candidates, write-in candidates only

University Park Allocation Committee (UPAC) Member (2 seats)

No declared candidates, write-in candidates only

The Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s annual awards honoring the work of members of the 71st Assembly, whose term started in April of 2021 and will conclude following elections to be held on March 30-31, 2022. The awards announced here include the Philip J. Burlingame Advocate for the Arts Award, George Atherton Outstanding Dedication to Penn State Award, Kenneth Martin Exemplary Service Award, and GPSA Delegate of the Year Award, along with a new award this year to honor the work of executive officers within the GPSA, the Zhao-Kelling Executive Officer Award.

Each award is designed to honor a different aspect of work done by members of the GPSA on behalf of its mission.

• The Philip J. Burlingame Advocate for the Arts Award recognizes a member of the GPSA that has contributed towards the advancement of the arts on campus via their work in the GPSA, both in terms of events and advocacy.
• The George Atherton Outstanding Dedication to Penn State Award honors a GPSA member whose work this term has greatly broadened the impact and connections of the GPSA within the broader Penn State community.
• The Kenneth Martin Exemplary Service Award recognizes a member of the GPSA that has gone above and beyond the regular responsibilities designated to them.
• The GPSA Delegate of the Year Award recognizes a delegate who has been the most outstanding delegate within the Assembly term based on their work and leadership.
• New this year is the Zhao-Kelling Executive Officer Award, created to recognize the executive officer who has done an outstanding job in carrying out their roles and responsibilities on behalf of the GPSA Executive Branch.

The following individuals were the winners of the GPSA 71st Assembly’s annual awards for 2022:

• George Atherton Outstanding Dedication to Penn State Award: Niladri Sekhar Mandal, College Delegate (Engineering)
• Kenneth Martin Exemplary Service Award: Megan Minnich, College Delegate (Law)
• Delegate of the Year Award: Ama Agyapong, At-Large Delegate (IGDP)
• Philip J. Burlingame Advocate for the Arts Award: Nora Tucker, College Delegate (Liberal Arts)
• Zhao-Kelling Award for Executive Officers: Sandeep Krishnakumar, Speaker of the Assembly, College Delegate (Engineering)

The GPSA would like to congratulate all winners as well as thank both them and all members of the 71st Assembly for their hard work and dedication during their terms.

From last Monday, April 5, until the end of Tuesday April 6, the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) conducted elections for members of the 71st Assembly, including for its executive board, graduate council student caucus, delegates, and UPAC representatives. Below are the results:

Executive Board
President – Schonn Franklin
Secretary – Alex Zhao
Treasurer – Matthew Billups
Faculty Senator (Graduate School) – Ali Watts

Graduate Council
Claire Kelling (Eberly College of Science)
Katie Warczak (College of Liberal Arts)
Jalen Jeter (School of International Affairs)
Hannah Nolte (College of Engineering)

Assembly Delegates
Agricultural Sciences
Travis Russell

Communications
Ashley Smalls

Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS)
Elham Rahimi

Eberly College of Science
Yasha Duggal
Nico Terry

Education
Seongryeong Yu

Engineering
Sandeep Krishnakumar
Lauren Katch
Niladri Sekhar Mandal
Haroula Tzamaras

Health and Human Development (HHD)
Brooke Mattern
David Desmet

Information Sciences and Technology (IST)
Matt McGee

Inter-Collegiate Degree Program (IGDP)
Maria Isabel Da Silva
Julia Kelliher

Liberal Arts
Nora Tucker

Nursing
Sherif Olanrewaju

School of International Affairs
Shaheed Soligné

School of Law
Megan Minnich
Eli Fields

UPAC Representatives
Hannah Nolte
Darius “Fuzzy” Williams-McKenzie

On June 29, the following open letter was sent regarding Penn State’s plans to reopen campus for Fall 2020. This letter was initiated by various graduate and professional student organizations here on campus in collaboration with the GPSA and others. For those who wish to co-sign onto this letter, either as an individual or on behalf of your organization, please use this form: https://forms.gle/FbfbJh1ycroWSXHJ9

Update: We received a response to this letter on our requested deadline of July 6, 2020 here

Graduate and Professional Student Organizations and Associations
Graduate and Professional Student Association
Coalition for Graduate Employees
Black Graduate Student Association
Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association
College of Education Graduate Student Council (COEGSC)
Ecology Graduate Student Organization
GILL (Graduates in International Languages and Literatures)
Graduate Students of the Department of Geography (GSDOG)
Graduate Women in Science State College Chapter
HGSA (History Graduate Student Association)
Human Development and Family Studies Department Student Steering Committee
Physics and Astronomy for Women+
Physics Graduate Student Association
Science Policy Society
Statistics Graduate Student Association
The English Graduate Organization (EGO)
The Graduate Alliance for Diversity and Inclusion (GADI)
Toward a More Inclusive Astronomy

Graduate and Professional Students
Alex Zhao
Chanel Lange-Maney
Claire Kelling
Anna Zhou
Rafael Alvarado
Valerie Keppene
Flora Oswald
Keri Mongelluzzo
Mitchell Godin
Katherine Davis
Tawni Stoop
Catherine Pham
Max Riedel
Oshadhi Jayasinghe
Essie Asan
Chloe Bliton
Andrew Peter Fleming
Fiona Lunt
Melinda Furer
Berenice Anaya
Tiyobista Maereg
Michael Palumbo
Sky Cardwell
Emily Grossner
Kaitlin Riegler
Jennifer Wong
Jacob Martin
Alexis Chin
Hannah Merseal
Jeremy Sutherland
Lindsey Ma
Rachael Huxford
Elijah Mathews
Emily Smith
James M. Kopf
Phoebe Sandhaus
Brianna Zawadzki
Benjamin Donovan
Katie Warczak
Hanareia Ehau-Taumaunu
Shio Sakon
Sabrina Evans
Stephen Kerby
Daisy Lei
Nathaniel Schermerhorn
Allison Link
Jessica Klimoff
Dillon Rockrohr
John Seabloom-Dunne
Marisa Lytle
Catherine McClure
Emma Wallace
Terri Frasca
Bryan Hendricks
Lindsay Boyd
Yi-Ting Chang
Chelsea Mayo
Margarita Hernandez
Maria Isabel Maza
Mariah MacDonald
Lyana Sun Han Chang
Samantha Vervoordt
Hannah Matangos
Catherine Hamby
Joshua Tuttle
Lindsay Palmer
Anna Piotti
Sarka Blahnik
Amrita Arcot
Alex Sibo
Rebecca Haddaway
Michael G Young
Young In Chung
Tong Chen
Dever Carney
Diego Hernandez
Joseph Balsells
Jerome Clarke
Mercer Gary
Mérédith Laferté-Coutu
Chrisann Zuerner
Alberto Bejarano Romo
Mohna Khan
Roger Walker
Duncan Lien
Benazir Fazlioglu-Yalcin
Hannah Roció Santa Cruz
Chris Velez
Merve Tabur
Ashley Lamarre
Omer Faruk Yalcin
Chelsea Parker
David Sanchez
Steven Baksa
Boyoon Lee
Jee-eun Kang
Ethan Kahn
Hanan Al-Alawi
Min Young Yoon
Thomas Nigl
Celeste Diaz Ferraro
Alina Zhurbenko
Dina Mahmoud
Nora Tucker
Anya Yu
Eunice Lim
Corinne Lajoie
Kevin Rosenfield
Gerald Knapp
Sarah Carey
Katherine Rose Kerschen
Cynthia Marrero-Ramos
Alicia Skeath
Akash Belsare
Yushuang Liu
Wayne Yeung
Emily Sterk
Natalie Pottschmidt
Parker Kjellin-Elder
Ernest Tjia
Katie Lewis
Jessica Vélez Avilés
Andrea Martinez Teruel
Priscila Lopez Beltran
Laura Kaminsky
K’Lah Yamada
Joseph Glinbizzi
Nicholas Bret Terty
Celina Joos
Chauncy Hinshaw
Amy Lebkuecher
Liz Schoppelrei
Ibis A Sierra Audivert
Esther C Munoz
Terry Torres Cruz
Julia Carr
Sarah Jonathan
Srisharan Shreedharan
Claudia Galindo
Kaelie Contreras
Kayla Irizarry
Zi Xian Leong
Mikael Hiestand
Claire Cleveland
Alexander Thames
Sierra Melton
Morris Aguilar
Sofia Johnson-Gutiérrez
Aarti Bhat
Stephania Sandoval
Allyson Ray
Isabella Swyst
Jake Otto
Miglena Ivanova
Sonya Trawick
Grace Wildermuth
Argha Saha
Denise Montelongo
Alexandre Blake
Avehi Singh
Ellie Mainou
Sayali Phadke
Kelly Rios
Nina Dennington
Brooke Lawrence
Elizabeth Eisenhauer
Hannah Tiffin
Haider Inam
Dominika Dec Peevey
Louis Nastasi
Elisa Lauritzen
Martijn van Kuppeveld
Austin Mejia
Renuka Joseph
Julia LaFond
Molly Rathbun
Raymond Friend
David Stupski
Zachary Goldberg
Tyler O. Jones
Cassie McMillan
Elizabeth Davidson-Lowe
Caner Simsek
Nushrat Hoque
Julie Wood
Jeremy Diaz
Yijia Li
Agus Surachman
Erin Treanore
Stephanie Winkler
Su Young Lee
Alexander Vera
Holly Kleinschmidt
Emily Southard
Ramzi Tubbeh
Divya Avnoor
Jennifer Goza
Rebecca Payne
Penina Backer
Ruchi Patel
Thu Tran
Isaac Wright
Tiffany Knearem
Courtney Cole
Erica Ryu
Hannah Whitley
Jose Sandoval
Bipana Paudel Timilsena
Christian Kelly Scott
Jocelyn Amevuvor
Caitlin Flanagan
Elise Andrea Quinn
Emily Erickson
Rachyl Hietpas
Samantha Davis
Dynisty Wright
Sarah Kania
Jillian Strayhorn
Eric Layland
Carlie Sloan
Lizbeth Benson
Elle Butler Basner
Catherine Herzog
Avery Chahl
Marci Cross
Sean Okonsky
Tianyu Yan
Michael Geitner
Trevor Bero
Mahdi Khajeh Talkhoncheh
Nicholas Cross
Puja Agarwala
Wendy Cheung
Yameng Gu
Hangdi Gong
Yanyu Mu
Debolina Sarkar
Rebecca O’Toole
David J Schillinger
Farnaz Tehranchi
Sagun Giri
Leila Farzam
Victoria Petit
Jonathan Dean Mccausland
Trang T.T Pham
Manar Mohammed A Salamah II
Brandin Michael Conrath
Marisa J. DeCollibus
Chris Kirk
Jennifer Jackson
Yintong Chen
Parul Maheshwari
Frances Lobo
Daniel Watson
Camila Gutierrez
Melissa Mercado