Student Representatives

Student Advisory Council

GSA is dedicated to remaining relevant and responsive to its student membership. In 2023, the SAC Immediate Past Chair joined the SAC Chair as a full ex officio voting member of the GSA Council! 

To accommodate this change, in 2023 SAC will begin a transformational electoral process whereby any GSA student (undergraduate or graduate) may run for election to SAC via the annual ballot that goes to all GSA members. Eventually, SAC will be capped at 17 members—all of whom will have been vetted in the same way as GSA Councilors.* This will also ensure a robust strong SAC body.

The nomination process to become a member of the Student Advisory Council is a simple one. You need only apply via the nominations portal and answer all the same questions as a member applying for any other open position.

We encourage every student member of GSA to nominate themselves for this important leadership opportunity!

Become a Student Representative to a GSA Division or Section

If you are interested in serving on a Division or Section, you only need to contact your chosen Division or Section using the contact links below and express your interest in being selected as their Student Representative. A simple email to the Chair, Secretary or other Officer will suffice to begin the process.

Divisions | Sections

Become a Student Representative to a GSA Committee

To become a Student Representative of a GSA Committee, you only need to complete the Nominations Form on the GSA website. The form will list all of the Committees for which there are openings as well as the deadline to submit a nomination. Submitted nominations will be provided to the GSA Nominations Committee that meets in the late summer. Recommended candidates are ratified by GSA Council during their fall meeting, and contacted in the beginning of each year for service terms that typically begin July 1st.

Learn more about all GSA Committees

Frequently Asked Questions

Current Student Advisory Council Members

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions. For other questions, please contact Darlene Williams, dwilliams@geosociety.org.

• You only need to be a student at the time of nomination. If you graduate during your service on SAC, that does not affect your qualifications to continue your term on SAC.
• The service term on SAC shall be a two-year voting term beginning 1 July of the same election year.*
• Nominations for SAC will open 1 October of each year, and close 31 December.
• On any given year, there will be 7-8 open positions on the SAC. Every year, up to 10 nominations will be accepted for the open positions. If more than 10 nominations are received, they will be vetted by the GSA Nominations Committee using a selection rubric approved by the SAC.
• Ballot candidates will provide additional information as requested by GSA staff to prepare the annual ballot. The annual ballot usually opens in March each year and GSA members vote for a month-long period.
• The SAC will continue to select its own Chair-Elect from its membership who then serves a three-year term with one year each as Chair-Elect, Chair, and Immediate Past Chair.
• The SAC Chair and Immediate Past Chair are both ex officio voting members of the GSA Council.

* As we move to this goal, there will be a few transitional years where the SAC is populated by both those who win election via the annual ballot and those who are finishing out pre-existing terms on SAC having been appointed to it due to being a student representative of a Division, Section or Committee.  As current student representatives naturally end their terms, the dual appointment of student representatives as ex officio members of SAC will be sunset.