On Thursday, Nov. 8, Brown University finalized a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the student organization Stand Up for Graduate Student Employees (SUGSE) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) that establishes dates, times, locations and procedures for an election to determine whether or not eligible graduate students will be represented by a union. The MOU follows an Oct. 11 notice from SUGSE/AFT of their intent to file a petition to hold an election at the University, an action that has been expected since Brown and SUSGE finalized an agreement in June 2018 that set the terms for a possible union representation election. Read more.

All are welcome to particiate in the Graduate School's eleventh annual Holiday Food Drive to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. We are collecting food from November 7-21, 2018. Please drop off needed canned goods (see list), in the Food Bank boxes at the Graduate School, the School of Public Health, the School of Engineering, Population Studies & Training Center, or the Arnold Lab. Thank you to all partners!

The newly selected Community Fellows are already making plans to strengthen the graduate student community at Brown. Motivation for becoming a Fellow varies, but many of the students describe wanting to contribute on campus and carry on a tradition of involvement they had as an undergraduate. "I've appreciated and benefited from the work of other Community Fellows in the past. I'm excited to continue the progress that has been made for graduate student of color programming and to find ways to make such programming more sustainable,” says Felicia Bevel, a PhD student in American Studies. Read more.