2023-24 Committee Members: Ashley Moses (Year 2), Kayla Vodehnal (Year 3), Alex Durango (Year 4), Jenny Kang and Ellen Gingrich (Year 5+). A representative from Year 1 will join in January 2024.
Mission Statement: The Stanford Neurosciences Student Program Committee (SPC) was founded in 2019 as a way to establish formal student advocacy in the Neurosciences Ph.D. program. The goal of the SPC is to foster a program culture of trust and mutual support among students and program leadership. To accomplish this, the SPC has been composed of one student representative from each year’s cohort (1-5+). Student representatives are tasked with assessing the needs and wishes of the student body and advocating for such during meetings with program leadership. While we strive to align program outcomes with student wishes, it is important to recognize that some requests may not be feasible due to certain constraints. In such cases, the SPC ensures transparent communication to clarify the reasons behind such decisions. Student representatives are encouraged to use both formal (polling) and informal (day-to-day socializing) means to assess and convey the needs of the students, and ensure those needs are being heard.
The SPC recognizes the importance of student input during the decision-making process that could affect curriculum, community, admissions, and DEI efforts in the Neurosciences community. As such, the SPC strives to act as a conduit between student needs, program committees, and program leadership to facilitate congruence in decisions. To this end, the SPC has established formal communication with relevant program committees to ensure open, multi-directional communication. By increasing transparency and advocating for student needs, the SPC works towards the ultimate goal of empowering students in the Neuro IDP.
The SPC serves as a hub between all other program committees and leadership. Below is a list of specific responsibilities that the SPC has.
Organize and lead student-only town hall meetings to discuss any issues, concerns, or feedback from the student body
Town halls will also function as a formal, regular means for each program committee (DEIB, Mental Health, Mentoring and Advising, as well as Curriculum and Admissions as needed) to disseminate updates directly to students.
Town halls are intended to be a safe space for students and will also be used as a means of building community.
Issue-specific town halls can be called as needed.
Gather student feedback on new program initiatives, community involvement, homeroom space, etc.
Generate ideas and strategies for implementing policies or events that address student needs and wishes.
Meet as a committee once a month to assess the effectiveness of current initiatives, address the needs of other program committees, review feedback from town halls, and plan future activities.