2009/2010 GSO Leadership Needed!

Greetings, graduate student friends. I ask that you please read the following in detail:

As I've mentioned, I will not be maintaining my GSO President position next year. I have served as GSO Vice President for two years and GSO President for one year, and it is now time for me to pass the governmental baton and focus solely on completing my thesis research. Furthermore, Annie Powell, the current GSO Vice President, will be graduating and will not be assuming the GSO President position.

Despite my requests, I've currently received zero verified nominations for next year's GSO President or Vice President positions. The GSO is an important voice for students, influencing the breadth of graduate student life from University services, health insurance, MARCH and incidental fees, community outreach, student research, and student activities, among others. But in order for the graduate students to maintain their often fragile, yet increasingly vocal presence at OHSU, they need strong leadership.

The final GSO meeting for the 2008/2009 academic years will be next Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 5:15 in the Vollum Synapse. This will be the last meeting that both Annie and myself will host. The GSO will have to supplant our retired voices with fresh ones if the GSO is to survive as a valid organization. I ask that you seriously consider taking this opportunity to serve the students, make a lasting impact at OHSU, and bolster your experience with administration and politics. Please consider that an effective scientist is also an effective leader and administrator; and being a GSO officer provides invaluable experience with both of those roles. Also consider that my research has not once suffered from my GSO involvement. Effective time management can easily accommodate both roles as full-time, hard-working student and GSO officer. That said, I will be forthcoming that GSO President, and to a lesser extent Vice President, certainly are time commitments. I will be happy to provide a thorough list of Presidential and Vice Presidential duties to anyone interested. But I will still be at OHSU next year and will be happy to assist any newcomers as they find their feet governing the GSO.

Please contact me directly with interest at johnsend@ohsu.edu

Best regards,
Dustin