UT’s Graduate Student Senate election campaign kicks off today. Todd Skelton and Will Gibbons, both first-year students in the College of Law, are running for the positions of president and vice president, respectively, of GSS.
The Student Government Association holds its elections for GSS in the spring of each year, in step with the undergraduate campaigns set to launch this week.
“Although GSS elections are not as elaborate as they are for undergrads, Will and I want to improve communication and awareness of graduate-student issues,” Skelton said in a released statement.
Gibbons said he is also interested in promoting GSS’s role within UT’s graduate-student population.
“Awareness of the organization is important to us, so we are reaching out to graduate programs across campus,” Gibbons said.
Generally, candidates run independently, but Skelton and Gibbons have thrown their names in the hat together. Their campaign’s goals are in line with UT’s Top 25 initiative.
“The Top 25 objectives are a major focus for us,” Skelton said.
The two are interested, however, in dealing with how those initiatives will impact graduate students specificialy.
“Several important issues … play a vital role in UT’s Top 25 Initiative,” Gibbons said. “Additionally, I think it is important that GSS communicate its mission to graduate students and increase awareness of the organization.”
With those objectives in mind, their campaign has focused on some concrete goals for graduate students.
“The number of graduate assistant, research and teaching positions needs to be higher,” Skelton said. “The stipend for those positions is also important. Improving the competitiveness of those stipends will help UT attract and retain top graduate students. The challenge is accomplishing this in a fiscally responsible manner.”
Another important ambition of theirs is to make UT more accommodating of specific graduate-student goals.
“Research is of interest, and we want to leverage partnerships to benefit students and encourage interdisciplinary study,” Skelton said. “I am also concerned with student-life issues, including making our campus more welcoming, and graduate student insurance. We want to make sure that UT is an environment where students want to live and learn, and we must ensure that the right support systems are in place.”
Both Skelton and Gibbons are focused on enhancing the ability of GSS to better serve graduate students.
“(We) want to improve the support systems in place for graduate students,” Gibbons said.
The two senator hopefuls have created a Facebook page, called “Skelton-Gibbons for Graduate Student Senate,” articulating their “five-point policy plan: academics, communication, diversity, fiscal responsibility, and student life.”
Currently the team is unopposed.
“There are no other GSS parties or independent candidates on the ballot,” Skelton said. “However, election rules allow for write-in votes, and other candidates may come forward that way. We are still reaching out to students across campus and want to make GSS more visible.”
The team plans to make improvements to the senate, using their different strengths to better represent students.
“Will and I are excited about the opportunity to represent the graduate-student body,” Skelton said. “My experience at UT combined with Will’s new perspective will help us create solutions for student and university issues. GSS is really an advisory body, and we are committed to advocating for students.”
Gibbons, while a newcomer to UT, is excited about this leadership opportunity.
“I am relatively new to the UT community, but I have always sought to make a positive impact on the places in which I have been,” Gibbons said. “I can bring a fresh perspective to GSS as its vice president.”
The candidates take proposed tuition increases seriously and plan to voice student opinion.
“Solid student leadership is important in pursuing UT’s Top 25 mission and making the university even better during this challenging economic climate,” Skelton said. “We are aware of proposed tuition and fee increases and want to ensure that student concerns are heard.”
Gibbons graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in public policy studies. Skelton is a UT graduate in the College Scholars Program, with a concentration in business law and corporate governance. He also was named a Torchbearer.
“Both Todd and I feel we are good at bringing different types of people together and formulating strong, reasonable solutions to problems,” Gibbons said. “We both are prepared to advocate at the university and state level the goals of graduate students.”
Scheduled voting days are next week on Tuesday, April 5 and Wednesday, April 6. Vote online at http://votesga.utk.edu/.
