The race for the next Graduate Trustee is heating as two candidates prepare to go head-to-head in election.
The Graduate Trustee sits on the Board of Trustees—one of the chief governing bodies at Queen’s—to represent graduate and professional students’ interests. The position is unpaid and spans a two-year term, with the trustee being one of three students to sit on the Board.
Candidates in the running include Emils Matiss, PhD ’26, and Nick Mertin, PhD ’29, who both sat down with The Journal to talk about their platform pillars and their hopes for the future of the graduate student life at Queen’s.
Emils Matiss
Matiss, a PhD candidate in neuroscience, the current SGPS President and prior Graduate Student Senator, explains his top priority is enhancing transparency for graduate students.
Reflecting on his experience as an advocate for students in his role as SGPS President, he highlighted the importance of this work at the Board of Trustees level. He emphasized the need for continued advocacy to protect the Queen’s Graduate Award (QGA) and ensure future funding for students.
The University proposed cutting the QGA early in September for the 2025-26 academic year, but later reversed that decision in October to keep the award for the subsequent year with continued discussion and proposals of how best to graduate students. The award provides an average of $4,100 per student for research master’s stipends.
READ MORE: Graduate students score victory as the University halts cuts
“My goal is to ensure the board [the Board of Trustees] is thoroughly informed about the implications of the proposals they receive from the istration so that they can make decisions that uphold University’s values and long-term success,” Matiss said.
To achieve transparency, Matiss plans to ask “probing questions” which would bring into question the istration’s rationale behind their decisions. He pointed to the QGA cuts as an issue he hopes to facilitate discussion around, aiming to inform the University about its risks before any final cuts are made.
He anticipates the challenge of shifting from his current assertive role to one that balances representing the interests of both graduate students and the University. However, he firmly believes that what benefits the students ultimately benefits the University.
Nick Mertin
Mertin, a PhD candidate in electrical and computer engineering, is running for Graduate Student Trustee to address budget issues and ensure ability to the student population.
He harnesses past student leadership in his goals for trustee, with experiences expanding beyond student governance. For instance, Mertin served as academic representative to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen’s during his undergraduate years while also co-founding the Queen’s VEX U Robotics Team, which now has over 100 .
“Most of what I’ve done has involved having to negotiate with people that I have no control over and gain their respect, work with them in order to build a consensus […] in order to create a solution,” Mertin said.
When asked why he was running for the role of Graduate Trustee, Mertin emphasized the authority of the Board of Trustees in critical University issues—most notably, finances, with budget cuts being the biggest issue impacting students in the SGPS.
To overcome the budget issues, Mertin aims to utilize the role of the Graduate Student Trustee by helping build a consensus that works for everyone on both the Board and student sides.
When asked how he would deliver ability in his role, Mertin highlighted ideas including an open town hall for students and outreach to various departments and student groups on campus.
He emphasizes being the voice that represents students, aiming to bring forward student issues, worries, and interests to the Board of Trustees when making critical decisions to find solutions for graduate students.
Corrections
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that four students sit on the Board of Directors. Only three students sit on the Board, one of which is the Graduate Student Trustee.
The Journal regrets the error
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