About GSFLC

The GSFLC was created to give graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in the Chemistry Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison representation in departmental affairs. This committee is charged with:

  • Facilitating an ongoing discussion between the graduate students/postdocs and the faculty/staff
  • Serving as the voice of graduate students/postdocs
  • Organizing events to foster community and wellness and provide opportunities for outreach and professional development
  • Acting as a catalyst for change within the department to improve the overall climate for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars

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Wellness

The GSFLC recognizes that wellness directly impacts the health, success, and productivity of graduate students and postdocs. The Wellness Subcommittee aims to promote the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of graduate students and postdocs and a positive departmental climate.

Examples of past events:

  • Wellness-related events (e.g. Dogs on Call, seminars focused on a wellness issue, etc.)
  • Forums to discuss climate and mental health, including a bi-annual disclosure of the GSFLC Climate Survey results
  • Mental and physical exercise events (e.g. meditation, yoga, bike rides, ice-skating, knitting night, etc.)

Community Building

The GSFLC recognizes that department climate and student wellbeing are significantly impacted by the number and quality of social interactions within the chemistry community. The Community Building Subcommittee aims to foster belonging in the community by facilitating interactions between department members, particularly those in different departmental roles (graduate student, post-doc, staff, faculty).

Past events:

  • Department Breakfast
  • Ice Cream Social
  • Fall Bonfire
  • Capitols Hockey and Mallards Baseball Games
  • Department Paintball
  • Ice Skating
  • Mini Golf
  • Game Night

Career Development

The GSFLC recognizes that exploration of careers and development of professional skills are vitally important to graduate student and postdoc development. The Career Development Subcommittee aims to help prepare graduate students and postdocs for their future careers.

Examples of past events:

  • Career exploration (e.g. From PhD to Post-Doc, From Post-Doc to PI, Intellectual Property, Science Writing, etc.)
  • Career planning (e.g. ACS Career KickStarter, Careers Day, Individual Development Plan, etc.)
  • Professional skills (e.g. conflict resolution, goal planning, project/time management, networking, leadership, communication skills, etc.)
  • Organizes travel grants, mentorship awards, annual Department poster session

Outreach

The GSFLC recognizes that as scientists, we have a duty to share our knowledge with the general public and to inspire the next generation of scientists. The Outreach Subcommittee aims to increase graduate students’ and postdocs’ participation in scientific outreach in our larger community.

Examples of past events:

  • Charity fundraising within department
  • Outreach scholarship
  • Promotion of community outreach events (e.g. Science Saturday at the WID, Wisconsin Science Festival, Family Science Nights at local schools)
    • Organizes graduate student and postdoc participation in these events
    • Provides outreach demos/activities
    • Creates activities that can be used at local outreach events