Chairperson race goes solo

Bill Dials said his leadership and educational experiences will help him to add structure and new faces to GPSA if he becomes council chairperson.

Dials said all graduate students are members of GPSA in a sense, because they all pay a $20 student fee. He said he would like to provide a voice for the graduate students who are too busy to participate in the organization.

“They shouldn’t be sacrificed because they don’t have the time to be involved,” Dials said.

Dials is the first-year GPSA representative of the Law School at UNM. He said he would like to break down perceived barriers between different departments at the University by setting up a shadow program for graduate students so they can experience areas of the campus that they are unfamiliar with. He said the program would be a great way for GPSA members to learn how funding will affect people’s lives.

“It fills in the emotional part of making these rational decisions,” he said.

Dials said he would like to set up a mentor or internship program that would encourage local businesses to match the research funding that students receive through GPSA. He said the program would be an investment to the community because it would keep talent in the area.

In 1999, Dials was the project manager of COMPA Industries in Albuquerque, where he determined the time frame, funding limitations and procedures for various projects. He said he would like to continue overseeing projects by creating goals for the GPSA Council to accomplish from meeting to meeting.

“It’s great to talk about things in the abstract, but then we need to put it into practice,” he said.

Dials said if he is elected to the position he will remain open to ideas so he can learn new perspectives. He said a person doesn’t have to agree with everyone to be a good council chairperson.

“If you have respect and are willing to listen, then that’s a step in the right direction,” he said.

Dials went to junior high school in Santa Fe and was his high school student council president. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania and the New School of Social Research where he received a master’s of liberal arts degree in interdisciplinary studies, a master’s degree in psychology and a minor in American history.

Last year, he graduated from the Executive Masters of Business Administration program at the Anderson School and became fascinated by business law. He is now in his first year of Law School at UNM.

Dials is running unopposed in the council chair election that is decided on by council members.

Dials has played soccer since he was 5 years old. He is now limping around because of a small bone fracture in his leg, but says he is an expert on crutches.