The Astro Grad Congress (AGC) held its October General Body Meeting on October 10th, 2025, with 15 graduate representatives in attendance. We’re excited to share a quick recap of what we discussed, what we’re working on, and how you can get involved!

Meeting Format

We’ve launched a new meeting format to make space for both updates and collaborative work:

• 20 minutes for announcements and subcommittee updates
• 30 minutes of breakout room time for subcommittees to coordinate, co-work, and set goals
• 5 minutes to recap and share across groups

We’ll continue using this structure in future meetings.

Steering Committee Meetings

AGC steering committee meetings are now open to all reps! These are informal spaces to co-work, brainstorm, and chat with the team. We meet every other Friday morning—if you’d like to join, feel free to reach out and we’ll share the details.

Subcommittee Breakout Rooms

After voting on which initiatives we want to prioritize, we broke into subcommittees to begin planning and organizing. Here’s a quick look at what each group is working on:

Unionization

This group discussed the stages of organizing across various departments, strategies for advocating for stipend increases, and ways to ensure international student involvement. They also shared concerns about departments discouraging organizing efforts—and reminded folks that such actions are not legally allowed.

Grad Involvement in Faculty Hiring

This team is working to compile information on how graduate students participate in faculty hiring processes across institutions. The goal is to advocate for best practices and support departments in creating more inclusive and transparent hiring structures.

Community Building

This group shared examples of community-building programs at their home departments and discussed how they contribute to equity and a sense of belonging, especially for underrepresented students. The group plans to collect data to highlight the importance of strong department communities.

Outreach Database

This team is compiling a list of public engagement initiatives in astronomy to centralize resources and inspire new efforts. They’re designing a short survey to gather contributions and aim to encourage collaboration across institutions.

How to Get Involved

All subcommittees are open to any interested reps, and you’re welcome to join even if you’re not able to contribute regularly. There’s no pressure to commit—just join in when you can!