Oct. 17, 2011
April Wefler
[email protected]
Many students often find themselves wondering about current issues on campus.
There might be specific questions that they want answers to – for example, they might be curious or confused about housing or class scheduling, or they might have heard that the administration is planning to expand the Recreation Center and have questions about the expansion.
They may not have even heard about the Rec Center expansion until now.
If you are one of these students, you’ll want to check out Student Conversation with the Chancellor, hosted by Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak.
Shockley-Zalabak plans to discuss these and other current issues on campus, as well as directly address any questions students might have.
According to Tom Hutton, director of media relations and internal communication, the agenda for this session will include informing the students about the new housing on campus, discussing the expansion of the Rec Center, and covering class scheduling.
Students will then have the opportunity to ask the Chancellor their own questions in an open forum.
“I think mostly she wants to do some listening,” said Hutton. “Finding out what’s on people’s minds – What are you thinking about? What are your concerns? I think she sees it very much as a listening opportunity.”
“I know she is a believer in getting back to people and responding to people directly and honestly. This is sort of an extension of that philosophy to go out and let people ask questions and let them hear a straight answer,” he continued.
The Chancellor thinks it is important to hear from the students on what they need or want on campus.
“Most people will graduate before they see a new building or something like that, but that makes their opinions valuable,” added Hutton.
Drew Johnson, a junior business major and member of the Chancellor’s Leadership Class (CLC), is planning to attend.
“I think the benefit to students is that they can see what’s going on and maybe be inspired to get involved with the campus community,” he said.
“There’s a lot of opportunities here and maybe going to something like that will be a catalyst for wanting to get involved with a club … or maybe some other organizations on campus that are highly involved.”
Johnson added, “As students, we’re the clients or the customers, and the more interest we show in what’s going on, then the more say we have as to how things develop. Students have a lot of power to make change on campus, and the first step to getting involved and making change is knowing what’s going on.”
Matt Sidor contributed to this article.
When:
Thursday, Oct. 20
2:30 p.m.
Where:
University Center 302