Richardson new GPSA president

Katie Richardson will be the next GPSA president.

Richardson received a little more than 50 percent of the votes. Joseph Dworak, the runner up, received about 30 percent of votes.

Richardson said she is eager to begin her position as GPSA president.
“I am humbled that graduate and professional students have placed their trust in me, and I am ready to be a servant of the students,” she said. “It is crucial that the student voice be heard at this University and that UNM’s academic mission is protected.”

A record 20 percent of about 6,000 eligible graduate students cast votes in the election.

The 2011 GPSA constitution was also ratified with about a 60 percent approval rate, and the capital expenditure bill received nearly 70 percent of votes.

GPSA President Lissa Knudsen said she is confident passing the torch to Richardson.

“She is an amazing leader,” she said. “She thinks on her feet. She cares very much about the

constituents. She understands the issues as much as anyone can at this point.”
Knudsen said GPSA is in need of a fresh outlook.

“I’ve given a couple years of my life,” she said. “I’m so glad that I’ve been given the opportunity to do it. But I think the time is right for a new perspective and a new approach and some new ideas. … I’m looking forward to spending more time with my daughter and getting back to my studies.”

Dworak said Richardson has her work cut out.
“GPSA needs to do a lot more to work with the University and not create barriers with the administration and the students,” he said.
“(Richardson) will have a lot of work to do in rebuilding those connections because I think a lot of them are broken.”
Dworak said past GPSA leaders haven’t done a good job working with the administration.
“The administration has turned away from GPSA just because of the inability to work with some of the leaders in the past, because they’ve just been so hostile in nature,” he said. “I think next year the GPSA presidential role is going to be to work on smoothing out those relationships.”