Graduate Council
Purpose: The Graduate Council, which reports to the Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs, defines, in consultation with the Dean of the Graduate School, the policies that govern graduate education at the University in compliance with the regulations of the University, the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System, the Board of Regents, and the State of Louisiana. Specifically, the Council defines minimum criteria relating to admission, retention, and completion of students in degree and non-degree graduate programs; its jurisdiction also extends to policies governing graduate faculty membership and application of college criteria for that membership, revision and/or review of existing graduate programs, graduate degree requirements, graduate courses, and graduate assistantships and fellowships. The Council also advises the Dean of the Graduate School on matters pertaining to graduate education.
Membership: The Council consists of 27 members. Fourteen faculty members are elected by the graduate faculty according to college to a term of three years. There are seven dean-appointed faculty members, one for each of the academic colleges, who also serve a term of three years. Three members of the graduate faculty are appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School, in consultation with the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, to provide balance and equity; these members are appointed to a term of one or two years. Two graduate student representatives also serve on the Council. Finally, the Dean of the Graduate School is an ex officio member. Deans of the academic colleges, including associate and assistant deans, and are not eligible for membership on the Graduate Council. At its final meeting of each academic year, the Council elects a Chairperson from among its continuing members to serve a term of one year beginning on the first day of the month following the election.
Meetings: The Council normally meets on the second Tuesday of each month during the academic year. Other meetings of the Council may be called by its Chairperson, the Dean of the Graduate School, or the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Standing Committees: The standing committees of the Graduate Council include:
- Appeals Committee - Yung-Hsing Wu, Chair
- Curriculum Committee - Nathan Roberts, Chair
- Fellowships Committee - Ryan Nelson, Chair
- Graduate Faculty Membership Committee - Patricia Lanier, Chair
- Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Committee - Kelly Robinson
The Chairperson of the Graduate Council is charged with appointing the membership, including the chairperson, of the standing committees for a term that corresponds with the academic year. Members may be reappointed. Each standing committee includes members from each academic college. Faculty membership of the standing committees is restricted to continuing, fulltime faculty who are members of the Graduate Faculty.
The Council may establish and appoint other standing or ad hoc committees as it deems appropriate.
Current Members for 2023-2024:
Elected Members
Name |
Department |
College |
---|---|---|
Catherine Roche-Wallace | MUS | Arts |
Wesley Bradford | MUS | Arts |
Ignatius Cahyanto | MKTG | Business Administration |
Colleen Wolverton | MGMT | Business Administration |
Frank Del Favero | EDFL | Education |
Amanda Shuford Mayeaux | EDFL | Education |
Peng Yin | MCHE | Engineering |
Farzad Ferdowsi | EECE | Engineering |
Elena Babatsouli | CODI | Liberal Arts |
Nathan Rabalais | MODL | Liberal Arts |
Deedra Harrington | NURS | Nursing & Health Sciences |
Frances Stueben | NURS | Nursing & Health Sciences |
Kelly Robinson | BIOL | Sciences |
Kalimuthu Krishnamoorthy | MATH | Sciences |
Academic Dean Appointed Members
Name |
Department |
College |
---|---|---|
Ashlie Boelkins | ARCH | Arts |
Javier Portillo-Elias | ECON | Business Administration |
Marietta Adams | EDCI | Education |
Mark Zappi | CHEE | Engineering |
Amy Brown | PSYC | Liberal Arts |
Christy Lenahan | NURS | Nursing & Health Sciences |
Beenish Chaudhry | CMIX | Sciences |
Dean of the Graduate School Appointed Members
Name |
Department | College |
---|---|---|
Raju Gottumukkala | MCHE | Engineering |
Robin Koycheff | MATH | Sciences |
Leah Orr | ENGL | Liberal Arts |
Graduate Student Members
Name | Graduate Program |
---|---|
Clement Okolo, GSO President | Master's Student, Informatics |
LaToya Roberts | PhD Student, Applied Language and Speech Sciences |
Ex-Officio Member
Name | Office | College |
---|---|---|
Mary Farmer-Kaiser | Dean of the Graduate School | Graduate School |