The Student Affairs Committee (SAC) of the University Senate announced changes today to the Interschool Governing Board (IGB), the organization that funds groups composed of both undergrads and grad students.

With these changes, a member of SAC will set on the executive board of the IGB. “Other key constitutional revisions include adding a graduate administrator to better advise graduate-heavy groups, a focus on graduate student representation in club recognition criteria, and stricter guidelines for notifying student groups of their recognition status and funding availability,” the statement reads.

If you’re interested in being part of the IGB, the statement prompts you to contact your senator (Sean Ryan, Ramis Wadood, and Marc Heinrich for Columbia College; Jillian Ross for SEAS; Katherine Celentano for GS; and Erin Bryk for Barnard College).

Interschool Governing Board Restructuring

NEW YORK, February 10th. The University Senate’s Student Affairs Committee (SAC) is pleased to announce the restructuring of the Interschool Governing Board (IGB). IGB was previously established by SAC in response to requests from student groups for funding and recognition that exceeded the support available to them in their individual schools. Members of SAC recently ratified the new IGB Constitution, which was revised with significant input from Senators Cameron Robertson (GSAPP) and Tatev Papikyan (TC), former Senator Hariharan Sriram (SIPA), and SAC staffer Jay Rappaport (CC). Emily Moore (Graduate SEAS Senator, SAC Vice Chair) led this initiative and will serve as the SAC Committee member to the IGB. The newly formed IGB met for the first time on February 1st, 2016 and will begin instituting the new Constitution and generating conversations regarding issues that affect students in different schools.

In recent years, the IGB has struggled to maintain membership and comprehensive school representation. Many of the constitutional revisions serve to strengthen continuity between successive board members and increase school participation. For example, an executive board position has been created for a member of SAC in order to facilitate filling voting member seats and communication between the Senate and IGB. Other key constitutional revisions include adding a graduate administrator to better advise graduate-heavy groups, a focus on graduate student representation in club recognition criteria, and stricter guidelines for notifying student groups of their recognition status and funding availability.

Most importantly, the restructuring of IGB is meant to act as a forum for otherwise isolated schools to communicate and develop unique programming geared towards unifying the Columbia community. It is SAC’s hope that the IGB can eventually fuel conversations that compare school experiences and identify areas of excellence and/or improvement in order to enhance the Columbia student experience.

If interested in participating on the board, please contact your respective Senator for more information. Although several voting member positions have been filled, general body seats are open to the public. More information on IGB is available at https://www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/studentlife/groupres/governance/governingboards/IGB while the new website is under construction. A full roster of IGB members and access to public documents and meeting minutes will be available by the end of the Spring 2016 semester.