Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities Committee

The Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities Committee is charged to do the following:

Formulate and recommend conduct standards defining the professional rights and responsibilities of graduate students and propose legislation and/or procedures appropriate to their enforcement.
Provide resources and support to graduate students related to disciplinary graduate student hearings in accordance with the Miami University Policy Library.
Consider and, at its discretion, report to the Graduate Dean, President, and the Provost alleged infractions of graduate students' rights and responsibilities.
Act as a continuing advisory body to the Graduate Dean on matters of University policy and operation that affect the professional rights and responsibilities of graduate students.
Review the Miami University Policy Library on matters pertaining to graduate student's rights and responsibilities, and recommend changes, as appropriate, to the Graduate Dean.
Review departmental and divisional definitions and elaborations of University academic progress, graduation requirements, and assistantships/fellowships when requested by a graduate student, to decide whether those departmental and divisional policies are consistent with all the University policies. Assess concordance of departmental or program guidelines with broader University policies when requested by students.
Report annually to the Graduate Student Association and University Senate on matters considered by the Committee.
Review student concerns related to issues of equity, with respect to the University, divisional, and department policies and procedures.

At least: 1 terminal master's student; 1 doctoral student; 1 online student; 1 professional degree student (roles can be overlapping).

Student members must be from different departments
Faculty representative (with graduate Level A status, 3-year term)
Ex-officio: associate dean of the graduate school The Committee will seek nominations from graduate directors and program directors. Self-nominations are also acceptable. Student membership incentive by professional development funds, etc., at the discretion of the Senate

The Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities Committee is a standing committee of the Graduate Student Association, composed of 7-9 graduate student members who may not serve concurrently on GSA Exec. The term of membership is one (1) year (renewable for up to 3 years). The Chair will be elected by the previous year’s members. Meetings will be held with a remote access option.

Committee Members

Bamidele Emmanuel Osamika is a Master of Environmental Science student at the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability. He has a B.Sc. in Psychology from Adekunle Ajasin University (Nigeria) and an M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Ibadan (Nigeria). He was a Department of Psychology Faculty member at Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria from 2016-2021, and published twenty articles around mental health, psychological well-being, and quality of life.

Bamidele Osamika hopes to improve the quality of life and well-being of graduate students and the University community by joining the standing Committee Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities, through reviewing student concerns related to respect and equity, formulate and recommend standard procedures for issues affecting graduate students to the Graduate Dean.

Mastano N. Dzimbiri is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Educational Leadership, Culture, and Curriculum program, and an affiliate in the Department of Family Sciences and Social Work. His research interest centers around social justice, geography pedagogies, policy analysis, and curriculum theory. Outside academic work, Mastano is deeply passionate about supporting both domestic and international students on how they can have access to policy information as well as use the existing resources, which are critical for their academic success.

Yaa Sarfowah Amankwah is a 4th-year doctoral student in the department of chemistry and biochemistry. Her research work focuses on molecular chaperones and their role in diseases like cancer. In addition, she is interested in amplifying the voices and concerns of underrepresented communities on university campuses to ensure equity in exercising students' rights.

Amanda N. Reichert (she/her/hers) is a first-generation, second-year Ph.D. student in the behavioral neuroscience program in the psychology department. Her research interests include the impacts of early life stress, safety learning, and ways to alleviate the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Amanda’s two major goals are to assist in guiding other first-generation students through graduate school, as well as to reduce the stigma around mental health and advocate for easy access to therapeutic resources.

Kelechi P Uzoegwu is a third-year doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology Program. Kelechi's work in graduate school is centered around understanding the role of intrusive thinking in the development of mental health disorders and exploring accessible mobile-based interventions for managing intrusive thoughts. Kelechi is also a mental health clinician and psychologist in training. Kelechi is passionate about equity, inclusion, and student advocacy at the graduate level. Kelechi hopes to act as a resource for graduate students who may be experiencing difficulties or need support as they navigate higher education.

Keith Masluk Meyer is a second-year Master of Science in Computer Science student, a member of the MUSTANG research group, a former combined program, and an undergraduate student at Miami University. His research projects are in Software Engineering, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality applications, and Accessibility. Keith is passionate about helping undergraduate Miami students transition to graduate studies and supporting those in combined programs.

Dr. Claire McLeod (she/her)is an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Geology and Environmental Earth Science. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in the United Kingdom before moving to the USA in 2012. Her research aims to advance our scientific understanding of the geological processes which govern the evolution of rocky objects in our Solar System (Earth, the Moon). She maintains an active research group involving undergraduate, MS, and Ph.D. students, with a strong emphasis on mentorship, collaboration, community building, and professional development.

The Chair and individual members of the Committee are available to any member of the University community who wishes to discuss aspects of graduate student rights and responsibilities in general, or as related to his, her, or their personal situation, or who wishes to report alleged infractions, or to file a grievance or complaint according to the Miami University Policy Library.

Request Guidance from the Committee

The Graduate School

The Graduate School is committed to advocating and supporting graduate programs dedicated to the pursuit of new knowledge and best teaching practices that promote diverse, globally aware graduate students and faculty.