The Graduate Student Council unanimously passed a referendum last week to request greater support from the University for travel to conferences.
James Doyle GS, the GSC's president, emphasized the importance of having graduate students attend conferences, which he said are crucial for the students' academic and professional growth. It also helps by "putting Brown's name out there" and raising Brown's standing as a research university, he added. Even if students are not presenting at a conference, they can still benefit from the ability to network, he said.
The University currently provides up to $500 reimbursement for travel expenses per year to Ph.D. students in their second to fifth years if they are presenting a paper at the conference, Doyle said. The GSC would like to see support extended to Master's students, doctoral students in their first year of study, those studying beyond their fifth year and those not presenting a paper.
"The bottom line is more," he said.
Brown's compensation is "up there" with peer institutions, Doyle said. It is difficult to compare Brown's support to other schools' support because of the differences between the programs, he said, but there are other schools that offer larger sums of money.
Doyle said he appreciated that the "responsive administration" in the Graduate School took the GSC referendum seriously.
"We recognize that conference travel support is a very important issue for graduate students, and it is part of the Graduate School's ... budget request," Dean of the Graduate School Sheila Bonde wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
The requests of this referendum are included in the proposed budget that Bonde will submit to the University Resources Committee, Doyle said. The URC will then submit a final report to President Ruth Simmons in January. The subject will be reviewed and decided upon at the February meeting of the Corporation, the University's highest governing body.
Given the current economic troubles, Doyle said that he didn't expect things "to change overnight." But he thinks people will be happy that something is being done, he said.
The GSC also passed the first draft of a proposal to temporarily fund travel for students who are excluded from University reimbursements, Doyle said. He hoped this measure would not discourage the University from making changes to its policy, he said. The measure was well supported by the council's members and the final draft will be voted on at the next GSC general body meeting, he said.
"In tough times, we have to look out for each other," Doyle said.
The GSC chose to focus on this issue as an important goal for the semester because it is a concern to students across academic disciplines, Doyle said.
Leah Nahmias GS wrote in an e-mail that attending conferences is "extremely important" for Master's students, citing networking opportunities and the honor of presenting research. Master's students share needs with Ph.D. students, including conference travel, she said. She added that the University's distinction between Master's and doctoral students in terms of funding "seems unfair."
