I always enjoy spring. It brings a time of growth and transition. The days become sunny and warm, plants begin to grow and blossom, people begin to flock toward outside activities, and students move closer to graduation. The university begins to close out an academic year and prepare its new graduates to succeed in their future careers. Even the Graduate Student Council (GSC) enters into a time of transition as the current executive staff members begin to step down from their respective positions to make way for newly elected executive officers for the 2014-15 academic term. The newly elected president, Nick Keeling, has provided a statement within this edition of the newsletter, which I recommend that you read. I think the student body elected a wonderful set of officers who will flourish in their roles to provide a unique and superior experience for all graduate students at the University of Mississippi.
At this time, it is my pleasure to announce that for the first time in more than 10 years, the minimum stipend amount for graduate students will be raised for the university. This comes as a result of the hard work of John Kiss, dean of the Graduate School. Dean Kiss recognized that the minimum stipend amount ($7,200) was well below what many other schools offer their students. Under his leadership and a university-wide committee chaired by Donna West, chair of the Department of Pharmacy Administration, the minimum stipend amount has now been raised to $10,000 for full-time graduate assistants. This was a tremendous undertaking, and the GSC would like to express its gratitude to Dean Kiss and everyone involved in making this step forward for graduate education at the University of Mississippi.
Lastly, as we close on the semester, I would like to personally congratulate everyone who is graduating this May. I hope you have thoroughly enjoyed your time here and are leaving having grown as an academic, as a professional and as a person. I hope your experiences here lead to future growth and success. I also hope that you recognize the words of alumnus Frank Everett, in that you may receive a diploma and regretfully terminate tenure here, but that “one never graduates from Ole Miss.”
Hotty Toddy,
Tristen Jackson
President
Graduate Student Council
The University of Mississippi
gscpresident.olemiss@gmail.com