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Administrative Structure Overview
CMB Program faculty trainers are drawn from many UW-Madison departments conducting research in the areas of cellular and molecular biology. Within the framework of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School regulations, CMB faculty trainers are given authority to determine rules, guidelines, and general policies of the CMB Program. The Center for Quantitative Cell Imaging (CQCI), a Graduate School research center, was established in part to serve as the administrative home for the CMB Program. The administrative body representing CMB Program faculty trainers and students has been designated as the Coordinating Committee. CMB faculty trainers select focus group affiliations and CMB students become associated with these affiliations as part of their research area. The thirteen focus group affiliations in CMB are cancer biology, cell adhesion and cytoskeleton, cellular and molecular metabolism, developmental biology and regenerative medicine, immunology, membrane biology and protein trafficking, molecular and genome biology of microbes, physiology, plant biology, RNA biology, systems biology, transcriptional mechanisms, and virology. CMB faculty trainers and students are encouraged to assume leadership roles and actively participate in the administration of the CMB Program.
Student Involvement
Admissions Committee
Student representatives on the Admissions Committee are full voting members who review prospective student applications and make decisions regarding their admission into the CMB Program.
- Commitment: Review a subset of applications over the course of 7-10 days, one day-long meeting in December, additional shorter meetings after each recruiting weekend.
- Responsibilities: Review prospective student applications
Coordinating Committee
The Coordinating Committee is the governing body of the CMB Program. Leadership is provided by the CMB Program Chair and membership consists of the Admissions Chair, Advising and Orientation Chair, Curriculum Chair, Recruiting Chair, Focus Group Chairs, Fellowship/Training Grant Liaison, and the CMB Program Coordinator. There are also four graduate student representatives on this committee who participate as full voting members.
- Commitment: One-hour meetings four times per year (September through May)
- Responsibilities: Discuss relevant programmatic issues, review new faculty trainer applications, conduct yearly faculty trainer renewal processes, and set policies and procedures for the CMB Program
- Student Representative Elections: When a student seat becomes available, a general call for nominations will be sent out. CMB students will be able to nominate themselves and the CMB student body will then vote on who will serve as the new representative.
Orientation Leaders
Student orientation leaders are involved in planning community building and social activities during Advising and Orientation Week for new incoming CMB graduate students.
- Commitment: Two to three one-hour meetings during July/August and attendance at various activities during Advising and Orientation Week (end of August)
- Responsibilities: Plan social events for new students, time talks or solicit volunteers for talk timers during rotation talks, attend lunch with new students, and organize an annual canoe trip/hike
Professional Development Committee
The Professional Development Committee is designed to create opportunities for CMB graduate students to develop well-rounded science skills that could potentially allow for a broad range of thinking about their research area. The committee has recently focused on career opportunity seminars to increase awareness of future career opportunities.
- Commitment: Various meetings throughout the year and monthly seminars, the third Wednesday of every month, from 4:00-5:00pm
- Responsibilities: Plan events related to student interest in professional development, host visiting speakers, and organize career panels and alumni guest speakers
Recruiting Managers
Recruiting managers are expected to plan positive and welcoming recruiting visits for prospective CMB graduate students that exemplify the student leadership and community atmosphere found throughout the CMB Program.
- Commitment: Weekly meetings during January through March and attendance at most events during recruiting weekends held in January and February
- Responsibilities: Organize all student volunteers for various activities, serve as the main point of contact for visiting students, and ensure high quality and well organized recruiting weekends
Retreat Committee
In the fall, CMB student leaders organize a scientific retreat held off-campus. This weekend event is intended to provide an informal atmosphere for graduate students to discuss research interests between various laboratories. Students are encouraged to present posters, research talks, or workshop ideas, as well as interact and learn about other research in the CMB Program.
- Commitment: Two or three brief meetings between September and November
- Responsibilities: Plan the yearly retreat, organize the retreat schedule, and recruit students to attend and participate
Recruiting Weekend Volunteers
Recruiting weekend volunteers are expected to provide a friendly and welcoming environment for prospective CMB graduate students visiting for recruiting weekends and to provide assistance to recruiting weekend managers or the CMB Office staff as requested during recruiting weekends.
- Commitment: Attend various events each recruiting weekend in January and February
- Responsibilities: Pick up prospective students at the airport, be a host for dinner, escort students to faculty trainer interviews, host apartment tour, attend Madison activities, attend recruiting dinners, and present a poster during the poster session
Student Seminar Series Presenters
Throughout the academic year, the CMB student seminar is designed to give CMB graduate students an informal atmosphere to practice presenting their research to other graduate students. The seminar presenter receives feedback from attendees through a written and oral format. Students are given opportunities to network and learn about the diversity of research being performed within CMB and the UW-Madison campus.
- Commitment: Present at monthly seminars on Monday evenings at 5:00pm during the academic year
- Responsibilities: Present a research seminar talk at the monthly seminars
Peer Mentors
CMB peer mentors are matched with incoming students to help them with the transition to graduate school. Peer mentors connect with their matched incoming student during the summer and continue to serve as a resource for them as needed throughout the first year of graduate school.
- Commitment: Email conversations during the summer prior to new students entering the program, other meetings as necessary when the students arrive.
- Responsibilities: Serve as a resource for new CMB students as they transition into life in Madison and as a new graduate student. Answer questions they have about the program, etc.
CMB Program Chair
CMB Program Chair Responsibilities:
- Develop an annual budget with the Graduate School and various schools and colleges at UW-Madison
- Act as an official liaison to the office of the Dean of the Graduate School
- Appoint faculty chairs and grad student representatives to the following committees: Admissions, Advising and Orientation, Curriculum, and Focus Group Chairs
- Convene regular meetings with the Coordinating Committee
- Ensure that the Coordinating Committee carries out its responsibilities
- Advise the Dean of the Graduate School on staffing and policies relating to the CMB Program
- Handle issues that arise concerning CMB student and faculty trainer interactions
- Sign all documents and warrants related to the CMB Program
- Oversee and administer the CMB Program within the framework of existing rules, guidelines, and policies
- Identify mechanisms for raising flexible funds to support programmatic activities
- Identify sources of support for the CMB Program and serve campus-wide needs in coordinating requests for funds from national agencies and from the Graduate School
- Fulfill roles specified by the Graduate School as outlined here.
CMB Chair Term:
- The CMB Chair will serve for three years.
- The term can be renewed for an additional one to three years.
- If the Chair wishes to serve another term after an original three-year term and a three-year renewal term, they are welcome to run in a general election (election procedures for new candidates would be followed in this case).
Election Procedure:
- Six months prior to the end of the current Chair’s term, nominations will be solicited by the CMB office from among CMB trainers.
- Candidates will provide their CV to the CMB office.
- An electronic ballot with the candidates’ names and CVs will be prepared by the CMB office.
- All CMB trainers and students with dissertator status will be eligible to vote for one of the candidates. Voting will be open for two weeks. A minimum of 50% of CMB faculty must vote for the vote to count. If 50% is not obtained, the CMB Coordinating Committee will select the Chair by instant-runoff voting.
- If there is one candidate, faculty and students will have the choice to vote for or against the candidate. 75% affirmative votes (out of the votes received) is required for approval.
- If there are two candidates, the candidate with the majority of votes wins.
- If there are more than two candidates, voters will be asked to rank the candidates and the winner will be determined by instant-runoff voting.
- Following the election process, the CQCI Chair will officially ratify the decision.
Renewal Procedure:
- If the Chair agrees to serve additional years, the CMB Coordinating Committee will vote on whether to renew. The Chair will decide how many additional years they would like to serve, with a maximum of three.
- Six months prior to the end of the Chair’s three-year term, the CMB Coordinating Committee will vote on whether to renew for additional years. Approval of 75% of those present at the meeting is required for renewal.
Coordinating Committee
Coordinating Committee Membership:
The Coordinating Committee is under the direct leadership of the CMB Program Chair and consists of:
- Chairs from the standing committees: Admissions, Advising and Orientation, Awards, Curriculum, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
- The remaining members are the Center for Quantitative Cell Imaging (CQCI) Chair, the Focus Group Chairs (13), graduate student representatives including one MD/PhD student (4), and the CMB Program Coordinators (2)
Coordinating Committee Responsibilities:
- Determine the requirements for faculty trainer membership in the CMB Program
- Review new and renewal faculty faculty trainer applications
- Form administrative subcommittees, appoint members, delegate responsibilities and oversee the functioning of the subcommittees
- Promote campus-wide functions that facilitate interdepartmental interactions and collaboration (e.g., annual retreats, recruiting efforts, student orientation)
- Rule on petitions to determine requested exceptions to existing rules, guidelines, or policies
- Any faculty trainer or student in the CMB Program has the right to petition the Coordinating Committee to consider specific exceptions to existing guidelines, requirements, or policies
- The petitioner is expected to present an argument to the Coordinating Committee to demonstrate that the circumstances are sufficient to warrant an exception
- The Coordinating Committee has complete authority to grant or deny exceptions
- Review proposed changes in the rules, guidelines, or policies of the CMB Program for permanent change
- Suggestions for changes may come from any student, faculty trainer, or CMB Program staff member
- Changes are decided by a majority vote of the Coordinating Committee
- There is the option to call for a re-vote meeting with the entire CMB Program faculty trainers, should any ten faculty trainers object to the proposed changes by written petition
- Following such a meeting, the Coordinating Committee would circulate the proposed changes with statements summarizing the pro and con arguments expressed at the meeting and a ballot that is to be returned to the Coordinating Committee
- When a re-vote has been called, the proposed changes must be approved by a majority of the CMB Program faculty trainers
- The Coordinating Committee also has the option to call for a binding referendum on any issue, determined by a majority vote of responding faculty trainers
Admissions Committee
Admissions Committee Membership:
- Admissions Chair
- Twelve CMB faculty trainer representatives
- Six CMB student representatives
Admissions Chair Responsibilities:
- Serve as a member on the Coordinating Committee
- Oversee the Admissions Committee
- Serve as a liaison between the Admissions Committee, the CMB Office, and the Coordinating Committee
- Convene all meetings of the Admissions Committee in December of each year
- Evaluate all application decisions for consistency in the admissions procedure
- Complete international interviews of selected candidates
- Evaluate the credentials of students requesting a transfer into the CMB Program from other graduate programs on campus
- Analyze and enhance efforts of minority recruiting
- Provide an annual report to the Coordinating Committee following each Admissions season
Admissions Committee Responsibilities:
- Attend meeting(s) in December to consider applications for the upcoming fall semester
- Review applications and make final decisions for admission
Advising and Orientation Committee
Advising and Orientation Committee Membership:
- Advising and Orientation Chair
- CMB faculty trainer representatives from focus groups who serve as advisors
- CMB student orientation leaders
Advising and Orientation Chair Responsibilities:
- Serve as a member on the Coordinating Committee
- Oversee the Advising and Orientation Committee
- Serve as a liaison between the Advising and Orientation Committee, the CMB Office, and the Coordinating Committee
- Provide an annual report to the Coordinating Committee following each Advising and Orientation season
Advising and Orientation Committee Responsibilities:
- Serve as advisors to incoming students
- Provide general course information and make recommendations for courses during the first semester
- Provide lab rotation information and advise students on choosing lab rotations
- Meet with advisee annually
Awards Committee
Awards Committee Membership:
- Awards Chair
- CMB faculty trainers as needed
Awards Chair Responsibilities:
- Serve as a member of the Coordinating Committee
- Establish a committee to review awards applications
- Evaluate nominations for the Raymond L. Erikson Exceptional Thesis Award
- Evaluate nominations to be the CMB representative for campus-wide and national awards
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEIC)
DEIC Membership:
- Three CMB faculty trainer representatives; each faculty member is a liaison to one of the following committees: Coordinating Committee, Admissions Committee, and Advising and Orientation Committee
- Six CMB student representatives, one from each cohort of students
- CMB coordinators serve as ex officio members
- Meetings are open to all CMB students and faculty
DEIC Responsibilities:
Starting in the summer of 2020, students in the CMB Program have been working to address issues of systemic racism at UW-Madison and to find ways to improve support structures for students and leverage the program’s influence to call for broader, university-wide changes. The students hope that these changes will provide a foundation to promote equity within the program and to start a broader dialogue within the CMB community, as well as with other graduate programs.
Curriculum Committee
Curriculum Committee Membership:
- Curriculum Chair
- CMB faculty trainers as needed
- CMB student representatives as needed
Curriculum Chair Responsibilities:
- Serve as a member on the Coordinating Committee
- Review request for adding new courses as Electives to the CMB curriculum
- Serve as a liaison between CMB students and faculty trainers, the CMB Office, and Coordinating Committee
Focus Groups
Focus Group Membership:
- Each focus group has one CMB faculty trainer who serves as the chair
- CMB faculty trainers are affiliated with a primary and secondary focus group
- CMB students are affiliated with the primary and secondary focus group based on their Thesis Advisor’s area of research
Focus Group Chair Responsibilities:
- Serve as a member on the Coordinating Committee
- Develop a sense of community within the focus group and provide opportunities such as journal clubs, seminars, symposiums, etc.
- Provide up to date focus group content on the CMB website
- Suggest focus group representatives to attend various CMB events
- Provide an annual report to the Coordinating Committee regarding the focus group activities