Strengthening Graduate Leadership: Can We Count on Your Commitment?
Dear Graduate Student Organization Faculty Advisors, Program Directors, and Department Chairpersons,
As we prepare to launch the 2025–2026 academic year, the Graduate and Professional Student Government (GPSG) invites you to reaffirm your vital role in shaping a stronger, more connected graduate community.
We respectfully request your response to this message with the name and email address of your Graduate Student Organization (GSO)’s president and designated senator(s) for the 2025–2026 academic year. This information is essential for maintaining consistent communication, facilitating resource access, and ensuring your organization remains in good standing with GPSG. Please send your GSO leadership contact information to S.L. Ivey gpsgpresident@charlotte.edu.
If your department or program does not currently have an active GSO, GPSG is eager to support you in launching one. By establishing a GSO, your students gain access to funding, campus resources, voting rights within the Graduate Senate, and a platform to elevate graduate student advocacy. The Center for Student Involvement also stands ready to assist you with tools for leadership development, event planning, and growing organizational engagement.
Your Voice Matters—Show Up and Be Heard
The 16-member GPSG Leadership Team is committed to you. We respond to all emails, texts, and messages within 24 hours, and we aim to resolve your questions within 72. We don’t just listen—we act. But we need you in the room.
Monthly GPSG Senate meetings are mandatory for all registered GSOs. They’re held on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 4:00–5:00 PM in Popp Martin Student Union Room 200. There are only eight meetings per year. If your senator can’t attend, you must send a proxy. No exceptions. Your organization’s voice should never be missing from the conversation.
GPSG shows up—in admin meetings, with university leadership, and on behalf of every graduate student. We represent all 37 GSOs with integrity. But we can’t do it alone. We need every organization present, engaged in the 8 monthly senate meetings, and committed to building a stronger graduate student community.
To build a more responsive and unified graduate student community, each GSO will be assigned a dedicated member of the GPSG Leadership Team to serve as their liaison. This leader will serve as your direct point of contact, helping to keep communication clear, ideas flowing, and collaboration strong. Through this model, we aim to bridge the gap between student governance and grassroots leadership—ensuring that no GSO feels isolated or left out.
Your assigned liaison will soon reach out to attend one of your meetings and begin that relationship. But to make this possible, we must receive the name and email of your GSO’s president and/or senator as soon as possible.
We are also launching a major push to connect graduate students via the Niner Engage+ app, which now features a real-time Graduate Student Chat Space. This is where GSO leaders share victories, ask questions, post event ideas, swap strategies—and yes, even a few jokes. It’s your digital community hub, and we want your team in it from the start.
2025–2026 GPSG Senate Meeting Dates:
Every 4th Tuesday of the month (except December)
4:00 – 5:00 PM | Room 200, Popp Martin Student Union
- August 26, 2025
- September 23, 2025
- October 28, 2025
- November 18, 2025
- January 27, 2026
- February 24, 2026
- March 24, 2026
- April 28, 2026
A Zoom option for our monthly senate meetings will be available upon request, but all absences must be communicated in advance to:
Rachael Brown, GPSG Secretary: gpsgsecretary@charlotte.edu
Organizations that fail to attend senate meetings risk losing funding, having their charter revoked, and being banned from re-chartering for one semester. We don’t want that. We want your partnership.
We promise to respond to your needs swiftly, reliably show up when called upon, and build authentic, collaborative relationships with every graduate organization. This is not just a request—it’s a shared pledge.
Together, we can build the most inclusive, impactful, and energized year our graduate students have ever seen.
LET’S GO NINERS!
Racheal Brown
Secretary | Graduate and Professional Student Government gpsgsecretary@charlotte.edu
