Chemistry & Biochemistry Graduate Student Council

2025-26 Chemistry & Biochemistry Graduate Student Council

Mission Statement

The Utah State University Chemistry and Biochemistry Graduate Student Council (USUCABGSC) serves as the representative body for graduate students within the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The Council provides a forum for students to raise and address department-wide concerns, promotes mental and physical well-being through open communication with faculty, and supports efforts to enhance the academic, professional, and social experiences of its members.

Position Name Email
President Hannah Feinsilber hannah.feinsilber@usu.edu 
Vice President Andrew Egan andrew.egan@usu.edu 
Mental Health Advocate Kami Morgan kami.morgan@usu.edu 
Communications Director Vincent Rossi vincent.rossi@usu.edu 
Graduate Studies Liaison - Chemistry Andrew Egan andrew.egan@usu.edu 
Graduate Studies Liaison - Biochemistry Kadin Crosby kadin.crosby@usu.edu 
Capital Expenditures Liaison Andrew Egan andew.egan@usu.edu 
CABUSA Liaison Bamidele Filani bamidele.filani@usu.edu 
Graduate Recruiting Liaison -Chemistry Calvin Luu calvin.luu@usu.edu 
Graduate Recruiting Liaison - Biochemistry Edna Armah edna.armah@usu.edu 
Departmental Seminar Liaison - Chemistry Jesse Brown jesse.brown@usu.edu 
Departmental Seminar Liaison - Biochemistry Mel King mel.king@usu.edu 
Instrumentation Committee Liaison - Chemistry Jesse Brown jesse.brown@usu.edu 
Instrumentation Committee Liaison - Biochemistry Vincent Rossi vincent.rossi@usu.edu 
Safety Committee Co-liaison - Chemistry Jesse Brown jesse.brown@usu.edu 
Safety Committee Co-liaison - Chemistry Lamal Perera lamal.perera@usu.edu 
Safety Committee Liaison - Biochemistry Vincent Rossi vincent.rossi@usu.edu 

The Graduate Student Council also supports the glove recycling program.

Council Bylaws

Last updated 7/31/2025 

Council Membership and Positions

Members of the Council will consist of graduate students currently enrolled in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Utah State University, along with one designated Faculty Liaison.

The Positions of the Council are as follows:

  • President
  • Vice-President
  • Mental Health Advocate
  • Communication Director
  • Departmental Committee Liaisons
    • Graduate Recruiting Committee Liaison (Chemistry and Biochemistry Reps.)
    • Graduate Studies Committee Liaison (Chemistry and Biochemistry Reps.)
    • Safety Committee Liaison (Chemistry and Biochemistry Reps.)
    • CABUSA Liaison
    • Capital Expenditures Liaison
    • Instrumentation Committee Liaison (Chemistry and Biochemistry Reps.)
    • Departmental Seminar Liaison (Chemistry and Biochemistry Reps.)
    • Faculty Liaison

The Faculty Liaison position will be held by the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) and/or a member of the Graduate Faculty, selected by a simple majority vote of the student members of the Council.

Positions within the council may be modified at the discretion of the Council by a simple majority vote, resulting in an amendment to the by-laws.

Council Position Responsibilities

President

  • Facilitate Council meetings
  • Delegation/follow up of tasks
  • Head of fundraising efforts
  • Supports each position with individual responsibilities
  • Council elections
  • Creates budget and tracks spending of the Council
  • Makes financial requests to the department or other funding entities
  • Donor/sponsor reports as requested

Vice-President

  • Fulfills President duties when President is absent
  • Schedules Council meetings
  • Develops Council meeting agendas
  • Records meeting minutes
  • Track committee member assignments
  • Organizes Box data

Mental Health Advocate

  • Maintains the Council’s focus on mental health in all events/fundraisers
  • Prepares mental health spotlights for the graduate student newsletter
  • Liaison to campus mental health organizations
  • Works with underrepresented and international students from the department
  • Develops activities that foster international and local cultural awareness

Communication Director

  • Maintains student social media platforms
  • Creates and posts content on designated social media platforms
  • Promotes events within the department (e.g. creating flyers)
  • Takes pictures and writes summaries of events to post on social media platforms
  • Initiates outreach opportunities within the surrounding Cache Valley community (schools, businesses, USU extension)
  • Maintains contact information of relevant community and campus individuals, departments, clubs, and organizations
  • Initiates outreach opportunities on USU’s campus (Science Unwrapped, Day on the Quad)
  • Collaborates with the College of Arts and Sciences Media Specialist on larger events
  • Develops and maintains a reoccurring graduate student newsletter

Departmental Committee Liaison

  • Attends the departmental committee meetings as scheduled
  • Represents graduate student interests in each committee
  • Provides updates from the Council to relevant departmental committee(s)
  • Provides updates from departmental committee(s) to the Council
  • Graduate Recruiting Committee Liaison: Attends recruitment events with Committee as scheduled
  • Safety Committee Liaison: Participates in safety checks with Committee as scheduled
  • Faculty Liaison: Neutral party participant in regular meetings with the Department Head and the Council President

The duties associated with each position may be modified at the discretion of the Council through a simple majority vote, resulting in an amendment to the By-Laws.

Meetings

  1. Regular meetings will be held once per month during the academic year, totaling a minimum of ten meetings annually.
  2. Additional meetings may be scheduled during the summer or within any given month at the discretion of the Council membership.
  3. Any Council member may request an additional meeting by communicating with the President and/or Vice President.
  4. The Vice President will schedule meetings and provide the agenda to Council members at least three days prior to the meeting. Agendas and meeting dates will be posted three days prior on the graduate student council website.
  5. Meetings will be open to all graduate students unless a majority of Council members vote to close them.
  6. A quorum is required to conduct Council business. The quorum consists of a majority of the Council members. The President and Faculty Liaison must be present for the quorum to be valid.

Elections and Position Terms

  1. The President and Vice President positions will be 2-year appointments but can optionally be 1-year if communicated to the Council two months prior to elections.
  2. All other positions on the Council will be 1-year appointments with an option to extend for one more year.
  3. Elections will be held during the summer semester of each academic year.
  4. The student with the greatest number of votes will fill the position.
  5. A minimum of 20% of the graduate student body must participate in the vote for it to be considered valid. Uncontested positions must be approved by the graduate student body during the annual election cycle. Off-cycle vacancies shall be filled and approved by the Council. Council members appointed through off-cycle approval are required to stand for election during the subsequent annual election to retain their position.
  1. Students will take office immediately upon announcement of election results. Election results will be announced by the Faculty Liaison or designee.
  2. Once a new Council member has taken office, the prior Council member will be required to transfer all information held by that position to the new member.
  3. A Council member’s term will end prematurely if the Council member: Resigns, Is removed, or Graduates
  1. Resignation of a Council member should be communicated to the President and Faculty Liaison at least one week prior to the next Council meeting. The remaining Council members will hold a simple majority vote to fill the vacant position until the next annual election.
  2. A Council member may be removed at the discretion of the Council with a simple majority vote. The Council member being removed will be informed of this upcoming vote by the President and Faculty Liaison at least one week prior to the next Council meeting. The remaining Council members will hold a simple majority vote to fill the vacant position until the next annual election.
  3. A Council member may take a leave of absence at their discretion. If the leave pertains solely to Council duties, the member is responsible for appointing another graduate student to serve in their place during their absence. If the leave involves an absence from the graduate program itself, the Council will appoint a replacement to fill the position.

Amendments

  1. Amendments to the USUCBGSC By-Laws must be proposed, and shared with Council members, at least one week prior to the next Council meeting to be voted on during the meeting.
  2. Adoption of any amendment by the Council will require a simple majority vote in favor of the amendment.
  3. Once adopted, the President of the Council will amend the By-Laws during the meeting in which the amendment was passed.
  4. Each liaison representative receives one vote in Council decisions.
  5. Liaison positions with two representatives from Chemistry and Biochemistry each have an individual vote in Council decisions.
  6. Graduate students may serve in multiple committee liaison positions, provided they receive approval from the President, Vice President, and Faculty Liaison.
  7. Council members serving in multiple liaison positions will represent one vote in Council decisions.
  8. If the President or Vice President would like to serve concurrently as a departmental committee Liaison, they must obtain approval from the Faculty Liaison and the other executive officer (President or Vice President).
  9. Liaisons must have completed at least two semesters in the Chemistry and Biochemistry graduate program at Utah State University with the following exceptions:
    • The CABUSA Liaison
    • BS/MS students may serve as council members during the first year of their graduate program upon receiving approval from the President, Vice President, and Faculty Liaison.
  10. Departmental Liaisons may be removed from their position by the Council for inadequate participation.