The Graduate and Professional Student Association and the Graduate College share in supporting ASU graduate students at each campus.
Graduate Student Center (GSC) Locations
Brief History of the GSC
The proposition for a graduate student center began during the first year of GPSA with guidance and brainstorming from Presidents Brian Collier and Tim Lant. As originally envisioned, the Graduate Student Center would be a place where graduate and professional students could have study space, a coffee shop, food court, computer labs, 24 hour meeting and study spaces – all accessible with an ASU ID.
In subsequent years of GPSA, President Tracy Chavis negotiated a Graduate Student Center with ASU Administration and President Deirdre Hahn followed up with the logistics and initial planning for the center. By the Spring of 2005 the commitment of a location and dedicated resources for renovation were given for the Center for Family Studies Building. The previous occupants, the Hispanic Research Center, were moved from the building to a new location on campus. Kirsti Cole, Destiny Cider and Robert Fischer worked as GPSA representatives on a small committee to plan for the usage of space and décor of center. Also included on the committee were Anita Dubbs, GPSA Senior Office Specialist; Stacy Smith, ASASU Office Manager; Luke Ngo and Joseph Degraft-Johnson, ASU project and Facility managers. This committee met every two weeks from April 2005 to October of 2006 to set priorities and update on progress for the GPSA move to the center.
The GPSA relocation from the 3rd floor of the Memorial Union offices to the GSC was set for orientation week in August, prior to the final installation of a few basic utilities (e.g., desks, chairs, phones, computer lines). For several weeks GPSA operated from personal cell phones and office floors, a challenge for the annual GPSA Research Grant competition and the orientation of the new Assembly. However, by October 2006, most of the final renovations were complete, just in time for the Grand Opening celebration with students and ASU administration.
The GSC Grand Opening Celebration, planned by Internal Affairs committee and chaired by Vice President of Internal Affairs, Destiny Cider, included the First GPSA Juried Art Show (coordinated by Scott Murphy, Photography MFA student) in the GSC conference room; a buffet dinner for ASU administrators and graduate students featuring the ASU Alumni string quartet (coordinated by Bree McEwan, Director of Communications); student talent from ArtVerge (coordinated by Stjepan Rjko, doctoral student in Arts, Media & Engineering); and the annual GPSA Research Grant Award reception (coordinated by Mary Aubin, Director of Graduate Research). The opening reception invited speakers included Milt Glick (ASU Provost), Maria Allison (Dean of Divisions of Graduate Studies), Marjorie Zatz (former Assistant Dean of Division of Graduate Studies), Tim Lant (founding member of GPSA), and Jess Koldoff (President of GPSA). All of these activities introduced students and administration to the accomplishments of GPSA, Graduate Student Organizations, high quality research projects, and award winning arts of the graduate student community.