Four Elected to Graduate Professional Congress for 2023-24 Terms

The newly elected executive officers for the Graduate Professional Student Congress, from left: Kolade Olatunde, president; Miguel Rodriguez, vice president; Krystle Merry, secretary; and Allen Braziel Hatch, treasurer.

The Graduate Professional Student Congress held elections for new executive members and college at-large representatives this spring. The results were announced on Friday, April 21. The new Executive Committee for 2023-24 includes:

• President Kolade Olatunde, a Ph.D. student in the Graduate School and International Education Public Policy Program;
• Vice President Miguel Rodriguez from the U of A Sam Walton College of Business Executive Education;
• Secretary Krystle Merry, a Ph.D. student from the College of Education and Health Professions Curriculum and Instruction Department; and
• Treasurer Allen Braziel Hatch, Ph.D. candidate from the U of A Sam Walton College of Business Department of Economics and president of the Black Graduate Student Association.

New At-Large Representatives for the colleges include Krystle Merry for the College of Education and Health Professions, Tola Odebod and Wenbo Xu for the College of Engineering, Harrison Smith for the Graduate School, Erik Steven Breidinger and Jesse Greenhill for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and Sarah L. Shelby for Dale Bumpers College of Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences.

Officially formed in 2018, the Graduate Professional Student Congress exists to serve all graduate and professional students at the U of A by improving their lives, career and research. Some members of the leadership teams are directly elected to their positions each year by the student body; others are appointed internally after being elected as departmental student organization representatives; all work to serve and represent all graduate and professional students at the U of A. Each college at the U of A can send up to three delegates to represent the college on the GPSC; these at-large representatives are elected annually by the student body.

If you are a graduate student and would like to serve as a departmental student organization representative or a college at-large representative in the GPSC assembly, you can view current openings or email GPSC contacts with questions. The next assembly meeting for GPSC and to swear in new officers will be from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, in GEAR 026, with a virtual option.