President W. Taylor Reveley IV visited the Student Government Association (SGA) during the Senate’s Tuesday, March 25 meeting to discuss Longwood University’s strategic plan process. Reveley brought a page of “conversation starters” that he has discussed with different university departments to provide students with university advancement topics to start thinking about.
As the Longwood community recognizes the institution’s 175th anniversary, Reveley said it is a “great time for Longwood to be thinking about the future.”
He encouraged the Senate to share their thoughts during the meeting and in the future in order to add and expand upon the conversation starters.
Reveley said the plan is to submit a two to three-page draft to the Board of Visitors by their June meeting. The board would then recirculate the plan and formally adopt a strategic plan in September 2014.
The conversation starter sheet Reveley distributed to the SGA included a list of key principles: “Academic Enterprise at the Heart,” which is prizing “faculty engagement with students and our residential character” as Virginia’s third oldest public university and one of the hundred oldest U.S. colleges and universities; “Transforming Lives,” which is described as being “at our best when helping to transform our lives” through aiding students in realizing potential; and “Camaraderie,” which was described as “enriched by our many traditions; a camaraderie that gives us a distinctive advantage when working through challenges and challenging times.
The sheet listed items to focus on: retention and graduation, renewing general education, national marketing, foot traffic by alumni and friends, prosperity of one of America’s oldest two-college communities, strengthening the university community, and housekeeping, structuring and governance.
Several senators suggested additions to the conversation starters. Residential & Commuter Life (RCL) Representative Tristan Cunningham recommended that the Office of Diversity and Inclusion be staffed more heavily to expand the office’s resources for students. He said freshman minority students would benefit from programs such as the Academic Support Krew (A.S.K.), a tutoring program previously offered to students seeking help in the areas of math, science and/or English.
President Haley Vest said the camaraderie between faculty and students at Longwood is unique and should be highlighted. Executive Senator Jessica Darst added that she sees a mutual respect between professors and students.
Historian Paige Rollins expanded on how Longwood transforms lives with the opportunities the institution provides students.
Auditor O’Neishea Edmonds said there is “somewhere for everyone” with the clubs and organizations available to students.
Senator Joe Gills said the president’s focus on the retention rate is important. Another senator added that the Center for Academic Success benefitted him during the first semester of his freshman year. However, he felt that the office staff should be expanded in order to assist director Rebecca Sturgill and accommodate more students. He suggested that the center’s staff include guidance counselors to help freshmen with their grades.
Senior Class President Logan Miller recommended connecting upperclassmen to freshmen beyond the Peer Mentor role in order to allow freshmen to gain a better idea of which classes to take. In a similar vein, Darst said information on which classes to sign up for before registration at orientation would be beneficial as well.
Reveley said he would like to see more of a “rhyme or reason” to the university’s general education requirements beyond simply checking a certain class off a column. He said it is difficult for universities to achieve this but believes Longwood can.
Treasurer Alex Julian moved to cut open forum in order to allow more time to amend the constitutional amendments brought forward from last week’s meeting.
A notable change included omitting the requirement for an open forum session during presidential debates because the wording could be misinterpreted and cause some students to think this was required for unopposed candidates.
Vice President Steven Sommer reminded the Senate to promote the upcoming SGA elections because even if these changes receive the popular vote, the amendments can only go into effect if one-sixth of the student body votes in the election.
On behalf of the Student Finance Committee, Sommer moved to allocate $574 to Lambda Pi Eta to cover additional costs for the Theodore Clevenger Undergraduate Honors Conference. He then moved to re-allocate $117.46 for tie-dye T-shirt costs and $330.74 for a new computer. The motions to approve all of the allocations passed.
Elections for the 2014- 2015 Senate, Honor Board and Conduct Board began at midnight today, Wednesday, and continue until Sunday. Students can access the polls via CollegiateLink.
Students, faculty and staff interested in attending an SGA meeting can do so next Tuesday, April 1 at 3:45 p.m. in the BC Rooms of Lankford Student Union.
