For a list of current & former BEAST officers, please go here: Officer List
Co-President (2 persons): The role of the president is to represent BEAST to the faculty and facilitate communication about issues that concern the group. This includes: (a) representing BEAST at Executive Committee meetings once a month on alternating campuses, (b) reporting to BEAST about issues raised at Exec Meetings and relaying student feedback to the Exec, (c) calling and running BEAST meetings and elections, (d) representing BEAST at official departmental events, and (e) overseeing the entire BEAST organization. S/he should have significant previous involvement with BEAST. Students must have passed their qualifying exam. The first president will start January 2019 and stay on for one year until January 2020. The second president will start March 2019 and stay on until March 2020. This will allow for each person to hold office for one year with a three month overlap between each administration.
Treasurer (1 person): The primary role of the treasurer is to oversee financial transactions for BEAST. This includes applying for funding, managing budgets, and coordinating reimbursements. The term is 14 months, beginning June 1st and concluding July 31st of the following year. This provides a 2-month overlap for the incoming treasurer to learn from the incumbent.
Webmaster (1 person): The role of the webmaster is to maintain the BEAST Wiki (http://ucbeast.berkeley.edu/) and resources within (e.g. updated first year information, rent map, student directory of dissertation labs, calendar). Familiarity with WordPress is helpful, but not necessary. This is a one year position.
Diversity, Equity, inclusion and enhancement committee (DEC) (6 members total w/ 2yr appts, 3 members elected each year): Members of the DEC are elected each winter to serve a two-year term (three new members elected each year). The DEC’s main goal is to improve the overall climate of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the UC Berkeley–UCSF Graduate program in Bioengineering. The specific duties include (a) serving as Student Representatives on Faculty Search Committees, (b) conducting a biennial (every other year) DEI climate survey of the program to determine targeted areas of improvement for the Executive Committee, (c) Drafting a yearly memo to the admissions committee to emphasize the importance of DEI in science and building a stronger community within our program, (d) Selecting speakers to give a talk related to DEI in science at the department seminar, and (e) sponsoring other DEI-related programming to foster discussion and improvement of community within BEAST. The committee chair will serve as the primary point of contact for any additional questions external to the committee as well as the liaison between the committee and faculty/the department.
Admissions Committee (10 members total w/ 2yr appts, 5 members elected each year): Student representatives on the Admissions Committee play an active role in the selection of incoming students. The requirements include: (a) evaluating the numerous candidates’ applications during December/January based on criteria set by the faculty before the admissions committee meets, (b) attending the all day Admissions Selection Committee meeting in mid to late January and the follow-up meeting following the visits in March, (c) reviewing each application with the full committee to arrive at a consensus and to select the applicants to invite for interviews. Students must have passed their qualifying exam. This is a 2 year term.
Retreat Committee (8 members total w/ 2yr appts, 4 members elected each year): The Retreat Committee plans the annual Bioengineering Retreat. The responsibilities include: (a) establishing the format and agenda for the retreat, (b) communicating with BEAST about the structure of the retreat, (c) soliciting participation in student talks and poster sessions, faculty talks, and the alumni panel (d) organizing student-faculty networking dinner (e) giving input to the committee regarding social activities, (f) running the T-shirt competition, (g) coordinating with administrators, and much, much more! The term is two years, with one returning member serving as chair of the committee.
Visit Weekend Committee (8 members total w/ 2yr appts, 4 members elected each year): The Visit Weekend Committee plans the weekend itinerary for the prospective students prior to their interviews, and interfaces with the administrators to coordinate schedules and events for the on-site admissions visits. The majority of efforts occur between January and conclusion of the admissions visits. Coordinators should be accessible to prospective students during the on-site and off-site visit activities. The term is two years, with two returning members serving as co-chairs of the committee.
Advocacy, Communications, and Outreach Committee (4 members total w/ 2yr appts, 2 members elected each year): The Advocacy, Communications, and Outreach (ACO) committee serves a number of functions for BEAST, including (a) collaborating with other advocacy groups on both campuses (science policy group, outreach organizationss, etc.), (b) producing a biweekly-monthly email blast summarizing upcoming opportunities (c) serving as a point of contact (both internally and public facing) and as an aggregator of information/contacts/events related to ACO, (d) organizing 1-2 events for BEAST each semester (e.g. “Twitter for Scientests” workshop), (e) coordinating with department faculty/administrators when issues of advocacy, outreach, or communication arise, and (f) promoting BEAST and Bioengineering students via the BEAST social media accounts (@BioE_BEAST).
Internal Networking Committee (4 members): The role of the internal networking committee is to encourage Bioengineering students from different years and campuses to get together in a social setting on a regular basis. The responsibilities include: (a) organizing holiday party and the social events at the annual Bioengineering Retreat (b) suggesting places and times to meet for dinner, drinks, and/or movies, (c) planning and advertising events such as picnics, ice-skating or bowling expeditions, hikes or volunteer opportunities and/or (d) proposing other cool events. The committee should set a social calendar at the beginning of the year and advertise to the group accordingly. This is a one year position.
Head Peer Advisors (4 members total w/ 2yr appts, 2 members elected each year): The Head Peer Advisors organize and facilitate the BEAST peer advising program. This includes (a) recruiting and matching peer mentors with incoming students, (b) providing support and guidance to peer mentors, (c) organizing advising events throughout the year to address the concerns of first-year students, and (d) providing additional support and mentoring to first-year students as needed. This is a two-year term.
BEST Coordinators (1 UCSF, 1 UCB): BEST coordinators schedule and administer the BioEngineeering Student Talks (BESTs). BESTs provide a forum for Bioengineering students to practice talks, whether they be conference presentations, job talks, qualifying exams, etc. BEST talks take place at both campuses. Duties of the BEST coordinators include (a) arranging the schedule and rooms for meetings, (b) arranging food for each meeting (reimbursed through the Berkeley department office/Graduate Assembly and through MyExpense or ASGD for UCSF), (c) arranging A/V support for each meeting, (d) advertising BEST to the greater community. For facilitating room bookings, the Berkeley BEST coordinator is expected to become a BEAST signatory, which involves at the minimum taking an online quiz. This is a one year position.
UCSF/Berkeley Graduate Assembly (GA) Representatives (UCB GA: 2 delegates, up to 2 alternates; UCSF ASGD: 2 delegates, up to 2 alternates): The main responsibility of the Graduate Assembly representative is to attend meetings once a month to represent BEAST on the Berkeley GA. The specific duties include (a) casting votes, (b) reporting important news, and (c) checking on progress of BEAST funding requests, as necessary. The main responsibility of the UCSF Associated Students of the Graduate Division (ASGD) representative is to attend meetings three times a quarter to represent BEAST on the UCSF ASGD. The specific duties include (a) casting votes, (b) reporting important news, and (c) checking on progress of BEAST funding requests, as necessary. This is a one year position
Industry & Alumni Liaisons (2 members): The Industry & Alumni Liaisons help facilitate interactions between current students and professionals from various career paths within Bioengineering. This interactions are meant to help student explore different career paths and develop a vision for their career post-PhD. Industry & Alumni Liaisons have the ability to plan whatever types of events they’d like, but often organize an Alumni/Industry seminar series to showcase the different career paths available to students after graduation. Other formats include organizing coffee talks or meals with small groups of students and a Bioengineering professional. This is a one year position.
BMES Liaison (1 person): The primary role of the BMES Liaison is to interface with the undergraduate chapter of BMES at UC Berkeley and streamline interactions between the undergraduate and graduate Bioengineering student populations at UC Berkeley/UCSF. The BMES Liaison is expected to meet with the BMES Executive Committee as necessary, helping advertise their events to graduate students and recruiting graduate students to participate at their events. This is a one year term.