Committees on Grievance Policies, Housing and Transportation

 

To: UChicago Faculty and Other Academic Appointees

From: Daniel Diermeier, Provost

Subject: Committees on Grievance Policies, Housing and Transportation

Date: April 30, 2019

 

The message below details two new committees that will be established in response to the Committee on Graduate Education Report. One will examine grievance policies for graduate students and the other will review housing and transportation needs. Both committees will include faculty and graduate students and will make recommendations to me in Autumn 2019. Graduate Council will manage the nomination process for graduate student members of both committees, and all interested graduate students are strongly encouraged to apply.

 

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The Report by the Committee on Graduate Education highlighted various areas of concern to graduate students and faculty that merit further exploration and discussion. As a first step, I am establishing two committees to develop recommendations in three such areas.

 

The first committee, chaired by Jason Merchant, Vice Provost and Lorna Puttkammer Straus Professor in Linguistics and the College, will consider the issue of student grievance processes and policies. The second committee, chaired by Angie Marks, Associate Vice President for Real Estate Operations, will consider housing and transportation.

 

The two committees will commence their work this quarter and deliver their report to me in Autumn of 2019. Each committee will include faculty members, graduate students, and staff. Graduate students will be appointed in collaboration with Graduate Council.  The Office of the Provost and UChicagoGRAD will provide administrative support for both committees.

 

The Committee on Graduate Education demonstrated the importance and value of a collaborative process to improve doctoral education at the University. I am confident that these two new committees will further advance this critical task.