TST Graduate Students' Association (TGSA)

Each year, the TGSA Board sets aside five grants of up to $100 in support of student groups wishing to host discipline- or area-of-concentration-specific seminars. These grants are intended for hospitality expenses to at such events, which are further opportunities for students to share and learn from each other. In the past, such seminars have included the Bible Seminar and a Worship/Liturgy seminar, among others. TGSA believes that such efforts are worthy of support and wants to continue to encourage seminar groups by offering these small grants.

In order to qualify for a grant, two student co-ordinators representing a proposed seminar must submit an application. Applications are to be sent to the TGSA Board Attn: Treasurer by November 8, 2017 and should include a short précis (max 250 words) explaining the purpose of the seminar, a signed promise to follow the TGSA parameters (detailed below), contact information for the two co-ordinators, and a tentative schedule of events. The TGSA board will review applications, awarding grants to the strongest proposals. A strong proposal should be able to explain the relevance of the seminar to its particular field, demonstrate academic rigour, and detail its appeal to TST students.
After a successful proposal, seminars must be announced to the TGSA community, be open to all TGSA students, and be held at an accessible space on or near the TST campus. The seminar groups must report on their activity in advance of the TGSA AGM in April 2018. Last year TGSA funded only one of these seminars – we hope we can see all of the allotted funds dispersed this year, so please submit your proposals. 

The TGSA Board works behind the scenes at TST to support students during their graduate studies. We do this through advocacy, liaising with TST and U of T administration, planning professional development seminars, funding travel grants for conferences, and building scholarly community through social and academic events. The Board is looking towards the upcoming 2017-2018 academic year and is looking for some new members to assist us in fulfilling our mandate and serving the graduate student community at TST.

Board membership involves attending monthly meetings and assisting with events put on by TGSA. Depending on the role, it may also involve attending external meetings within specific colleges or departments. There will be a Board orientation sometime over the spring/summer as well. Appointments are for a two-year term. Specific details and job descriptions can be found in TGSA’s Constitution and in our Policies and Procedures. Being a Board member is a great way to contribute to the TST community and to develop your skills in academic service and administration.

Open seats on the TGSA Board include:

College Representatives

• Trinity
• Wycliffe
• St Mike’s
• Emmanuel

Program Representatives

• Pastoral
• Theology
• Contextual
• Master of Arts
• Master of Theology
• Doctor of Ministry

Non-Voting Members

• Secretary
• Returning Officer

The nomination period will run from March 17th to April 3rd. Students interested in serving on the Board should find two peers within the TST graduate student community to nominate them for one of the vacant seats. Nominations are to be submitted to Carla Marcoccia, TGSA’s CRO, via email at carla.marcoccia[at]mail.utoronto.ca by April 3rd at 11:59pm. Nominations (and the results of any elections, if necessary) will be ratified at the TGSA Annual General Meeting on Thursday April 20th.

If you have any questions about serving on the Board or about the nomination process, please reach out either to our CRO or to tgsa[at]utoronto.ca

We are excited to have Adrianne Sequeiria join us for a presentation on mental health, faith, academic life, and navigating the challenges these can bring. Join us for lunch and discussion on this important topic. 

Our annual Graduate Student Conference, this year on the theme of Knowledge and Power in Theological Education, is taking place on Friday March 17th at TST (47 Queen’s Park Cres East). Lunch will be provided, along with a full day of excellent papers and discussions.

The schedule is available here: http://tgsa.sa.utoronto.ca/conference/

Please join us for a day of community building, sharing research, and important discussion amongst graduate students from TST’s various colleges and programs.

A message from the TGSA Executive Committee:

The Exec has decided, in light of recent complaints and activities surrounding the referendum, to call an extraordinary meeting of the TGSA Board at 11am on Tuesday 31st January in the Jay Boardroom of the TST building. The agenda for this meeting will centre exclusively on the current referendum.

As ever, any TGSA member is welcome to attend. Guests who have contacted the Exec in advance are welcome to speak to the Board. Any students with questions or concerns who are unable to attend are invited to submit a letter to be read at the meeting.