ABOUT
Vaughan Collins
BIO
Vaughan (they/them) is a first-generation, queer, disabled graduate student in the SSA (School of Social Administration) master’s program and is running for Graduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees in the 2020 University of Chicago Student Government Election to raise issues of importance to the graduate student body. Their professional commitment to addressing societal injustices extends to their care and devotion to the livelihoods of their fellow graduate students. Vaughan will represent the graduate student body by working to build connections between students and members of the Board of Trustees.
BACKGROUND
Vaughan graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in May 2019 with a BA in Psychology and Gender & Women’s Studies, completing a Psychology senior thesis, and a Certificate in LGBTQ+ Studies. During that time they led the largest suicide prevention student organization on campus, raising 35,000+ for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP); worked in three research labs; served on the Advisory Committee to the Office of the Dean of Students; volunteered in public elementary and middle schools; and gave workshops on sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence.
Interested in learning more? Check out their LinkedIn.
ABOUT THE POSITION
Graduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees
The nature of the position is focused on bringing graduate student groups’ and schools/divisions' concerns and recommendations to the Board of Trustees. While I include a platform in my Candidate Statement regarding some priorities to focus on from what I have observed as widespread and pressing issues for graduate students, I also want to emphasize that I would serve as students’ connection to the Board.
In this position, I plan to develop close relationships with each graduate school’s student government in order to ensure that I am representing all voices and remaining up-to-date with their concerns. I also plan to do this with various university-wide student organizations for underrepresented communities that have high graduate student membership to address their community-specific concerns. While I am already an active member in GSU and the UChicago for Fair Tuition campaign, I began to reach out to several others in which I received an endorsement from GenderQ, a student organization that provides a positive environment for trans, non-binary, and non-cis folx to discuss gender identity.