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About
About
The Student Affairs Committee is composed of Officers and Representatives. The Chairperson, Graduate Vice-Chairperson, Undergraduate Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer, and Access & Opportunities Officer are considered Officers. Representatives are a single Doctoral, Masters, Senior, Junior, Sophomore, and International representative from each respective class. Get to know the current SAC members here!
Purpose
Purpose
The Student Affairs Committee (SAC) is a Registered Student Organization of the University of Oklahoma serving the students of the School of Meteorology. SAC’s purpose is to ensure formal communication between faculty and students regarding School of Meteorology and College issues of direct importance to both undergraduate and graduate meteorology students. SAC represents the student body at all faculty meetings and relays student input on various issues such as curricula changes, degree requirements, and School resources.
Current and Recent SAC Activities
Current and Recent SAC Activities
Multicultural Fest: SAC holds an annual Multicultural Fest, where students, faculty, and staff within the National Weather Center bring a dish to share that represents their culture. In 2025, nearly 150 people attended this event, featuring outreach activities and performances from six OU student groups - the Armenian Students Organization, the Caribbean Students Association, the East African Alliance, the Latin Dance Club, the Spanish Language Club, and the Student Association of Bangladesh. This was our first year holding a raffle with over $1,000 in prizes donated by a wide array of local businesses. SAC thanks these donors and the College of A&GS, SoM, CIWRO, the OK Mesonet, SCAN, OWL, and SGA for sponsoring this event!
Examination of Graduate Student Stipends: In 2024, SAC Officers and Representatives completed a thorough review of how SoM graduate student stipends compared to other atmospheric science programs, taking into account stipend amounts, fees, cost of living, and other expenses associated with graduate life. This endeavor continued a decade-long effort to ensure fair and competitive pay in the School of Meteorology. This recent review motivated a 3-year stipend increase, and past outcomes include a reduction in graduate student fees at the University level.
Natural Disaster Relief: Each year, students from SAC, OWL, and SCAN join together to raise funds for those affected by hurricanes and other natural disasters. Our 2024 fundraiser united the NWC community to donate money via jars labeled with the names of faculty, student leaders, and—newly this year—prominent members of partnered NWC agencies. Those winning (or losing?) participants with the most money donated to their jars received a pie in the face! Thanks to the generosity of everyone involved, we raised $3000 to help those impacted by Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton along with California wildfires.
Representation on the GSC: SAC representatives attend Graduate Studies Committee meetings to provide student perspective on proposed changes to graduate curricula and processes. This input helped guide the new Atmospheric Science curriculum rolled out during the 2025-26 academic year. SAC has also previously consulted changes to the Graduate Student Handbook and more.
Career Development Workshops: SAC has hosted a number of workshops through the years focusing on student career development. Those efforts were restarted in 2023 following a pause during the pandemic, with events inviting a wide range of career professionals to serve on panels and answer student questions. Two workshops were held during the 2024-25 academic year, one partnered with CIWRO covering careers in atmospheric science and the other on curating resumes/CVs and interviewing as a prospective hire.
Research Fair: SAC hosts an annual college-wide research fair displaying current work of SoM and DGES graduate students. The research fair is intended to give graduate students an opportunity to present their research, provide ideas to attending students of the wide variety of research conducted with the College and its partners, and discuss various opportunities to which students may have access (i.e., internships, jobs, grad school opportunities, Capstone projects, etc.). The most recent research fair was held in March 2025, in collaboration with the Junior-level Principles of Research and Communication course.
Student Concerns: SAC continues to hear and communicate several student/departmental concerns including undergraduate facility usage, graduate and undergraduate courses, length of graduate study, and other issues. These discussions have led to several departmental changes to better suit student needs. Town Hall meetings are held each semester for undergraduate and graduate students and provide a space for students to discuss their concerns and voice comments about departmental issues.
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