Job Descriptions

Description of GRO E-Board Positions

Overview

Executive Board positions are paid positions in a form of fellowship. (There are some limits on the fellowship amount paid per academic year, depending on the position.)

  • All members of the GRO Executive Board are held to represent the general interest of the entire graduate student body. They are to refrain from representing the interests of the respective departments from which they come.
  • All Executive Board members are required to write at least one article for The Grad News per academic year.
  • All Executive Board members must also maintain the appropriate sections, corresponding to their specified role on the Executive Board, of the online version of the GRO Guide To Living in Baltimore.
  • Executive Board members shall regularly submit relevant information on their accomplishments in their role to be presented as part of the Executive Board Report given at each General Council meeting.
  • All Executive Board candidates should familiarize themselves with the GRO Constitution and Policy Document.

 

The following are detailed descriptions from the GRO Constitution and By-Laws Documents:

Permanent Chair Positions

Executive Board positions are delineated in the governing documents of the GRO which are filled annually. The responsibilities and purpose of these positions are fixed from year to year unless the General Council sees fit to change the GRO’s governing documents.

Chair & Co-Chair

The Chair and Co-Chair of the GRO in cooperation shall:

  • Chair all General Council and Executive Board meetings of the GRO.
  • Serve as the primary liaisons between the GRO and University administration and all other University and non-University bodies or representatives.
  • Appoint representatives to those University committees and councils on which the GRO is entitled to a seat. These appointments must be confirmed by vote in the General Council no later than the end of the second General Council meeting following the appointment. The Chair and Co-Chair must keep abreast of all University committees and councils on which the GRO is entitled to a seat and assure that the seat is filled and that the GRO member filling that seat reports to the Executive Board.
  • Be responsible for seeing that the duties of all committees are carried out.
  • Prepare the Executive Board Report for each GC meeting, as described in ​By-law III.1.3.(a).(iii)​.
  • Be responsible for sending out the agenda of each General Council meeting at least three days prior to the meeting.
  • Maintain GRO documentation, such as the Constitution, By-laws, and other policy documents.
  • Prepare the annual budget with the assistance of the Treasure, as laid out in ​Article V.1​.
  • Shall ensure regular communication with their counterparts in the Student Government Association (SGA) by meeting with the Executive Board of the SGA at the beginning of each semester.
  • Determine the appointment within the Executive Board of a liaison between the SGA and the GRO, who will attend SGA meetings to further cooperation and coordination between the two organizations.

Secretary

The Secretary of the GRO shall:

  • Be responsible for maintaining the records of GRO affairs, including but not limited to the minutes of all GRO meetings (General Council meetings, Executive Board meetings, and meetings between GRO members and University administrators).
  • Organize and facilitate the logistics of GRO meetings.
  • Take attendance at all GRO meetings.
  • Count the votes at all GRO meetings, except for regular elections as described in Article III.2.
  • Distribute announcements and information to members of the GRO, including General Council meeting minutes.
  • Maintain and distribute to the General Council lists of all current Program or Department Representatives as well as all committee chairs and members.

Treasurer

The Treasurer of the GRO shall:

  • Facilitate all financial transactions of the GRO and maintain records of GRO financial accounts.
  • Submit to the Chair a listing of all Executive Board expenditures to be included in the Executive Board Report.
  • Facilitate all reimbursements and transfers of GRO funds to all individuals and groups per General Council or Executive Board approval.
    Assist in the preparation of the annual budget with Chair and Co-Chair, as laid out in ​Article V.1​.

Administration and Group Funding Chair

The Administration and Group Funding Chair shall:

  • Be responsible for overseeing group funding requests, travel grant applications, and the related correspondences.
  • Be responsible for coordinating with the Co-Chairs, Secretary, and Treasurer in the administration of the GRO and its electronic communications.
  • Serve as Chair for the Travel Grant Committee, should one be formed.

Communications Chair

The Communications Chair shall:

  • Be responsible for the upkeep of information regarding the GRO through facilitating the maintenance of the GRO website, Facebook page, and other online sources of information.
  • Promote the GRO through written, online, and print media to encourage and strengthen GRO support and recognition on campus.

Advocacy Chair (2)

The Advocacy Chairs shall:

  • Be responsible for engaging with graduate students regarding efforts to enrich student life in areas that include, but are not limited to, housing, security, and financial and environmental concerns.
  • Meet with the GROs advisors and GRO Co-Chairs at least once per semester to discuss graduate student concerns.

Social Chairs (2)

The Social Chairs of the GRO shall:

  • Be responsible for the encouragement of interdepartmental community through the coordination of all aspects of the GRO’s social programming. This includes, but is not restricted to, an Orientation BBQ, Coffee Hours, and Happy Hours.
  • Be responsible for and properly manage the GROs budget for these social events.

Floating Chair Positions

Executive Board positions whose purpose and responsibilities are decided upon annually prior to being filled. While some of these positions return most years, they are not guaranteed to exist per the GRO’s governing documents.

Health & Wellness Chair

The Health Concerns Chair shall:

  • Be responsible to act as the graduate student representative on university committees (e.g., PATH, Wellness Working Group, other committees with OIE, etc.) related to student health and wellness.
  • Report on changes in the plan to the Executive Board and General Council, solicit opinions from the GRO on the health insurance plan, and act as a resource for students with questions regarding health insurance.
  • Engage with fellow graduate students and also the Rec Center, Counseling Center, OIE, and the Vice-Provost for Health & Wellness Office.
  • Develop programming (the scope of which is at the discretion of the chair) related to improving the health and wellness of grads. Some examples may be workout classes, hikes, mindfulness sessions, etc.

Graduate Involvement Chair

The Graduate Involvement Chair shall:
  • Be tasked with improving Graduate Student involvement in the GRO through direct outreach and contact with GCs, Graduate Students, and by establishing direct contact with the Graduate Program Directors of departments of KSAS and WSE.
  • Improve GRO awareness of graduate interests and concerns.
  • Act as a primary point of contact for new GC members.
  • Provide guidance to GC members on how better to communicate with and seek feedback from graduate students.
  • Communicate directly with GC members outside of GC meetings to identify barriers to communication and graduate GRO inclusion/involvement.

Intercampus Coordinator

The Intercampus Coordinator shall:
    • Plan intercampus social events like the intercampus formal, power plant bar crawl, end of the year BBQ, and other events.
  • Share programming opportunities from other school’s graduate organizations with the GRO and coordinate programming efforts, when appropriate.
  • Act as a liaison to the other graduate representative organizations at the various Hopkins schools.

Security Concerns Chair

The Security Concerns Chair shall:
  • Be tasked with monitoring the progress of JHU’s progress regarding the formation of a JHU police department. They would serve as a representative on any administrative committees formed by the university. The position could also include, but not be limited to, consolidation & of security resources related to the Homewood campus (statistics, heat-maps, resources, publications, etc.), hosting open forums on the police department discussion, engaging in the legislative process (i.e. in the Maryland Assembly) on behalf of the GRO, drafting and submitting for approval by the GC official recommendations in regard to security-based policy.

Diversity Chair

The Diversity Chair shall:

  • This position shall improve diversity (defined as broadly as the candidate would like) among grad students, within departments/faculty as well as in the GC.
  • Apart from developing projects in the realm of the GRO, willingness to serve on various committees across the university is required.

Previous Floating & Coordinator Chair Positions

Parentheses indicate the last term this position existed.

COVID-19 Concerns Chair (Spring 2021)

The COVID-19 Concerns Chair shall:

  • Be responsible for the continued monitoring, advocating of concerns, dissemination of information, and garnering of graduate feedback relating specifically to COVID-19 and its continued effect on the graduate population.
  • Be the primary point of contact for graduate students with concerns directly related to COVID-19.
  • Correspond with the administration and other graduate student organizations on policy and actions deemed necessary to protect graduate students during and following COVID-19.

Welcome and Guide Chair (Fall 2020)

The GRO Welcome and Guide Chair shall:

  • Be responsible for the compilation and dissemination of materials to introduce new graduate students to life in Baltimore and at JHU.
  • Be responsible for planning and executing events targeted at introducing new graduate students to JHU.

Professional Development Chair (Spring 2020)

The Professional Development Chair shall:
  • Develop, in conjunction with the Homewood Life Design Lab, programs that will enhance graduate professional development.

Summer Sports Coordinator (Spring 2020)

The Summer Sports Coordinator shall:

  • Coordinate and facilitate our softball, basketball and soccer leagues for the summer.
  • Correspond with team captains and establish & maintain the game schedule & tournament brackets for each sport.
  • Liaise with the Homewood rec center, as needed.
  • Assess and maintain the status of GRO sport equipment, held by the rec center.

Parliamentarian/Legacy Chair (Spring 2019)

The Parliamentarian/Legacy chair shall:

  • Improve the archive and institutional knowledge of the GRO
  • Be tasked with monitoring and revising governance of the GRO.
  • Review the GRO constitution, current policy documents, the current Rights and Responsibilities of GC Department Representatives, and governing documents of all current and future committees and suggest changes as required.
  • Report on any possible changes to the necessary bodies on a timely fashion and ensure that current versions of all governing documents are printed and stored in the GRO office at all times.