Cornell's Graduate School has created the new position of assistant dean for graduate student life and has developed a task force to address concerns outlined in the Graduate Community Initiative.

The initiative is a vision statement and proposal presented to the Cornell Board of Trustees in March by the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GPSA). It addresses critical and constant issues in graduate and professional student life at Cornell, taking an integrated approach across schools and disciplines and examining all relevant university services and resources.

The task force is co-chaired by Graduate School Dean Alison G. Power and Vice President for Student and Academic Services Susan H. Murphy.

"Our goal [in the Graduate School] is to be proactive and anticipate the needs of students in all aspects of their time at Cornell," Power said.

The initiative encourages the university to respond with "efforts to help the students come together as a totality by forming a graduate community that would cross fields and cross programs," said Graduate School Associate Dean J. Ellen Gainor. "It's challenging for graduate students to find ways to connect with each other outside of their own units."

The Graduate Community Initiative includes three requests of the university:

• To construct an expanded graduate student center to better foster academic and social interactions among graduate and professional students.
• To develop a graduate resource center at the new student center, consolidating career resources for graduate students and their families.
• To explore options for integrating the graduate and professional student experience, expanding possibilities for cross-departmental collaboration and student development.

Several constant, critical issues facing the graduate and professional student community are outlined in the initiative and may be resolved by an integrated approach to community. They include:

• Housing -- There is a need for housing on or near campus that is adequate for graduate student (and family) needs. The initiative cites the Residence Life Initiative on West Campus as a potential model.
• Transportation and environmental impact -- The majority of graduate students rely on public transportation, and at least 70 percent favor no restrictions on graduate parking permits, according to a campuswide survey. Graduate students are as likely to carpool to a campus lot as faculty and staff members but are given fewer flexible or affordable options.
• Child care: While child-care grants are currently available to graduate students, costs can be prohibitive. Cornell is opening an on-campus child-care center but lacks clear policies for family leave and keeping services affordable for all.
• Diversity -- Graduate students are the most diverse student population at Cornell. Policies must respect, reflect and enhance the benefits they bring to the university community.
• Mental health -- Independent and isolated study environments, intense competition, financial hardships and family separation are among the factors contributing to stress-related mental health issues, which are the most common complaint among graduate and professional students. Currently, Gannett Health Services counselors visit the professional schools and the International Students and Scholars Office for drop-in hours; this program has been effective but should be expanded to more locations.
• Professional schools and satellite campuses -- Students in professional programs often remain segregated not only from other graduate students, but from the rest of the Cornell community. The Law School and the Johnson School, for example, are almost self-sustaining college environments, and students there may not avail themselves of the diversity and resources that Cornell has to offer. Meanwhile, students on satellite campuses, such as the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y., may lack the standards of service in their communities (such as health care) that are available to students in Ithaca.

The full report is available online at http://assembly.cornell.edu/GPSA/20070312GraduateCommunityInitiative.