BY HEATHER CONNORS

Become a Member!The Graduate Student Assembly is the voice of graduate students at UMass Boston. Here is your chance to get involved! Here is your chance to get informed! Join the GSA and make sure your voice is heard and your graduate program is represented! Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, April 21 at 4:00 p.m. in the Student Life Conference Room (Campus Center, third floor). All graduate students are invited to attend!

Spayne and Bollinger Grant DeadlinesAre you a doctoral or master’s student working on your thesis? Do you need funding to complete your research? The GSA may have money for you! The Spayne Master’s Thesis and Bollinger Doctoral Thesis grants are competitive grants of up to $1000 each, given to two doctoral candidates and two master’s candidates each spring and fall semester. The application deadline for this spring’s grants will be Wednesday, April 27 at 5:00 p.m. More information and applications may be found on our website.

Recognized Professional Association AccountsRPA officers should be aware of several issues regarding their accounts. First, the Office of Student Life has announced that May 6 will be the last day to make purchases from RPA accounts. This means that if you are planning an end-of-the-semester event, you should get in touch with your advisor as soon as possible to start making arrangements. Secondly, please note the RPA policy changes outlined in the recent email sent out by the GSA. Beginning October 11, 2005, RPAs will no longer be allowed to carry a monetary balance in excess of $500. After that date, additional funds will revert to the GSA’s general programming account. To avoid losing money in their accounts, RPA officers should plan their purchases and events accordingly. If you need to know how much money is currently in your account, please contact the GSA.Current RPAs should also note that as of fall 2005, clubs failing to activate in consecutive semesters will lose any carry-over money in their account. It is therefore important for RPA officers who plan on graduating this year to share club information with other members so that continuity can be maintained.

If you have questions on any of these policy changes, please contact the GSA.

Professional Development GrantsDo you need extra money to travel to a professional conference this semester? The GSA administers the Professional Development Grant (PDG) program to assist graduate students with the economic burden of traveling to, and participating in, professional conferences and meetings. Grants of up to $400 are available to reimburse students presenting papers or posters, and grants of up to $300 are available for students attending conferences. Please refer to our website for application materials and guidelines. Note that all application materials must be submitted at least 30 days prior to travel to be eligible for review.

Looking for us?We are located on the third floor of the Campus Center, in room 3404. For applications, forms, or more information on any of our programs, please visit our website at www.gsa.umb.edu.