VOTER GUIDE

I pledge to focus on post-graduation job placement, funding for research, and respect for the graduate/professional student community's principles.

1. How will you work to keep tuition and fees low?
We need to invest in education and research and stop spending on entertainment. I will work to keep tuition and fees low by advocating to the administration, the Board of Regents, and the State Legislature to prevent increases for anything that does not support graduation and retention. In tough economic times it is vital to make education more accessible. Tuition is only one part of the cost. Fees have been increasing faster than tuition. I will advocate against funding major campus construction projects with student fees and will push to prioritize those projects that have an academic purpose. The economy is precarious and UNM does not need to spend millions on non-academic buildings such as stadiums. If projects are to receive bond dollars those projects must be for teaching, research, or service to the community. The current trend of transferring more debt to future graduate students by committing ourselves to increases in fees and bond obligations is fiscally irresponsible at best and shameful at worst.

I will maintain a qualified and active Finance Committee ensuring that the GPSA wisely manages the student fees it receives.

2. How will you help support diversity at UNM?
I will continue to advocate for full, recurring, University-based funding of the ethnic centers and Project New Mexico for Graduates of Color (PNMGC). I will appoint members to the Student Fee Review Board who represent the rich diversity that makes up the graduate and professional student body, and I will recruit international graduate students to hold key cabinet positions. Last year I advocated for the Queer Resource Center which was ultimately funded by the Board of Regents. I have also made it a top priority of my administration to increase accessibility to higher education for local New Mexicans, those from low income backgrounds, women, and students of color. I have done this by advocating for increased child care spaces at the UNM children's campus, being supportive of Project New Mexico for Graduates of Color (PNMGC), African American Student Services, American Indian Student Services, El Centro de la Raza, and Office of International Programs and Services.

3. How will you ensure the student voice at UNM will be heard in government(s)?
I will continue to advocate for graduate assistants to participate in annual negotiations regarding benefits and pay equity across campus. I will continue to push for openness and transparency within the UNM administration and the Student Fee Review Board. I will continue to cultivate relationships and show respect for the campus media, staying informed and engaging in the public dialog that is printed in the Daily Lobo, over the KUNM airwaves, and beyond. I will look to the voices of my constituents for guidance, and I will also seek out the voices of those that have experienced barriers in their efforts to participate in the process. Finally, I will maintain graduate student volunteer customer service positions ensuring that the GPSA office will be open concurrently with the SUB. This ensures that students, who pay for the office, have it available to accommodate their schedule. The GPSA office should be a place students can discuss issues and work to find solutions. By creating that kind of space, I believe graduate and professional students will feel more comfortable about sharing their concerns and will feel empowered to take action and affect change.

4. What do you believe are the most pressing issues for graduate and professional students?
The most pressing issue for graduate and professional students at UNM is securing post graduation employment. In addition to that, I have heard many graduate students express concern regarding UNM governance practices and UNM fiscal responsibility with graduate and professional student fees.

1) I want to establish a network that connects students with careers that require a higher knowledge-base. I will work with the Office of Institutional Research and develop a website where placement statistics by Professor and Department are available online. For those who wish to go into academia, I will work with the Office of Research to sustain a recurring source of revenue for research funding; and drawing upon GPSA experience at the state legislature, work to prevent further depletion of the GRD endowment. I will also work with Office of Graduate Studies and the Office of Research to waive Facilities and Administration costs for graduate student grants under $20K and to design an online training for graduate students to apply for national funding as the sole primary investigators of projects.

2) I will advocate for a University which both practices and models shared governance - consensus building, open office hours, and student, staff, and faculty representation on key decision making committees. I strongly believe we need to support faculty and staff to improve education, research, and service. I will continue to voice the concerns of graduate students with regard to the “behind closed doors” decision making, to the board of Regents, the Administration, and the Student Fee Review Board. I will advocate for specific changes in meeting protocols such as webcasting meetings, moving public comment to the beginning of the meetings, and making abiding by the Open Meetings Act a top priority.


Degree(s) Achieved: BS, Health Sciences and MPH, Health Education

Degree(s) Sought: PhD in Health Communication

Any activities you are involved in, and would like to be listed in the guide:
GPSA Council Chair
GPSA Court of Review Justice
GPSA Child Care and Family Friendly Committee Chair
GPSA Advocacy Sub-Committee Founder
GPSA Assistantships and Benefits Founder and Chair
GPSA SRAC, ST, and GRD Reader

Emerge New Mexico 2009 Member – A Political Leadership Training Program for Women in New Mexico
New Mexico Public Health Association Policy Committee Member – A Committee of the NMPHA that Establishes Legislative Priorities
Bernalillo County Local Collaborative Steering Committee Member – An Oversight Committee for a Bernalillo County Community-Based Behavioral Health Advocacy Group
New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force Legislative Committee Member - A Coalition Whose Goal is to Increase the Frequency and Duration of Breastfeeding in New Mexico

Recent GPSA Media Coverage

During my tenure as GPSA President, GPSA successfully educated the public on topics related to student housing, student fees and tuition, and funding for Athletics. Media coverage is necessary to hold UNM Administrators and the UNM Board or Regents accountable.

Funding

Student Fee and Tuition Hike - Full Article
Student Fee Hike - ABQ Journal Breaking News

Student Housing

South Campus Housing

Athletics and GPSA Special Election

Blog About GPSA Special Election
SFRB Cuts Athletics 2.2%
Students Want Athletics Cut
Grad Student Vote Centers on Athletics
Grad Students Let HR Director Off the Hook
Grad Students Call On an Independent Review of the Locksley/Krebs Debacle
Students Call For a No Confidence Vote In VP Paul Krebs
Athletics Pays $5000/Month for Out-of-state Media Consultant
Krebs Headed for No Confidence Vote
GPSA Calls Out UNM Athletic Director
UNM Student Leaders Set Stage for Krebs Vote
UNM Athletics Budget In Question
Fans React to Locksley's Suspension

2009/2010

Vicente Fox

US News and World Report: GPSA Opposes Vicente Fox As Commencement Speaker

"Fox commencement speech canceled"

Children's Campus

The Weekly Alibi ran an article on the Children's Campus expansion, "Teeming with Tots"

"Child care funding decision counterintuitive"

"Offering grad students child care subsidies an investment for NM"

"GPSA seeks child care subsidies for graduate students"

University Governance

The ABQ Journal reported,
"The UNM graduate student government approved a no-confidence vote of its own against Koch last week" in Friday's article "Governor's UNM Shake-Up"

"Balderas meets with students on audit"

"Auditor gathers information on UNM finances"

"GPSA backs faculty's motions to improve admin accountability"

Knudsen's GPSA Experience

It has been a pleasure to serve as the GPSA President this last year. As part of of my presidential duties I served as the Chair of the Student Fee Review Board, a board made up of 4 undergraduate members and 3 graduate/professional student members, I oversaw an executive board that administered grants ($800K in quasi-endowments and monies from the state legislature provide close to $40K each year to support graduate student research and travel), balanced the GPSA budget for the 1st time in years, held social and fund raising events, provided a show place for graduate student art, and coordinated two elections. In addition I employed office staff and managed the GPSA office. Throughout the year my administration reached out to community members, students from across the state, student organizations (Student Vets, Office of International Programs and Services, PNMGC, NM Public Interest Research Group, etc.), undergraduate students, faculty, staff, politicians, and local media representatives.

We initiated two brand new programs - 1) graduate student art show and 2) the GPSA office volunteer program. I am happy to report that both of these programs were a huge success with graduate student art being displayed throughout the year and a volunteer cadre that ensured the office was open during both business and after hours.

Prior to serving as GPSA President I also served as the GPSA Council Chair (to date I am the only female to serve in both the Council Chair and President positions), a Justice on the GPSA Court of Review, the GPSA Council Child Care and Family Friendly (CC&FF) Committee Chair, and the GPSA Assistantships and Benefits Committee Chair.