Governance & Committees

The English Student Association (ESA) is a student-run organization that seeks to improve living and working conditions of students enrolled in the CUNY Graduate Center’s English PhD Program by representing the their interests. Representation includes expressing the concerns of the students to the faculty and administration as well as relaying information back to the students.

The primary tasks of the ESA are to provide a forum for student concerns, sponsor a network of student mentors, oversee course evaluations, and run the student election process. In addition, the ESA runs an annual conference with faculty participation, open to ESA members as well as students from other institutions.

To get involved, sign up for the ESA listserv, join the ESA Facebook group.

ESA Constitution and By-laws

ESA Budgets (Current and Past)

ESA Meeting Agendas and Minutes

ESA Committee Membership

Former ESA Committee Members can be found here.
See Descriptions of Committee Roles and Statements from current and former committee members here.

 

 

  • Alumni and Fundraising
    ESA-only committee. Maintain alumni contact info; organize career panels, readings, and other social and scholarly events; create a yearly alumni newsletter with department updates and alumni publications.
    Makeba Lavan
    Talia Shalev
    Daniel Hengel
    Aaron Botwick

 

 

 

 

  • Diversity
    Joint program-ESA committee. Attend to matters of diversity within the Program. As of May 2017, Diversity officers are drawn from members of program committees to better be able to represent diversity concerns across all areas of program governance.
    Michele Chinitz (Admissions)
    Jane Boyton (Curriculum)
    Sarah Schwartz (Faculty)
    Elissa Myers (Placement)

 

 

  • Elections
    ESA-only committee. Conduct the election of student committee members and ESA Co-chairs; Responsible for including any valid proposed amendments to the ESA by-laws on the ballot.
    Andrew Dunn
    Margot Kotler

 

  • Executive
    Joint program-ESA committee.     This committee is the chief governing body of the English Program. It meets about once a month, including Open Meetings at the end of each semester.
    Christina Katopodis 
    Erin Spampinato

 

  • Faculty Membership
    Joint program-ESA committee. Consider changes in the doctoral faculty membership; publicize searches for new members; make recommendations to the Executive Committee.
    Sarah Schwartz
    Catherine Engh
    Elly Weybright (Alternate)

 

 

  • Library
    ESA-only committee. Maintain the ESA library in the English lounge.
    Sarah Hildebrand
  • Placement
    Joint program-ESA committee.     Work with the Placement Officer and other faculty members to coordinate job placement efforts.
    Elissa Myers
    Jojo Karlin
    Laura Elridge

 

  • Recruitment
    Joint program-ESA committee.     Recruit potential new students before and during the Open House for admitted students; coordinate the Mentor/Mentee program; coordinate with the Website Committee on materials for the Prospective Students.
    Elissa Myers
    Daniel Hengel
    Iris Cushing
    Sarah Schwartz

 

  • Website
    ESA-only committee. Maintain the ESA site; update, expand, and organize the website as needed.
    Jojo Karlin
    Jeffrey Binder