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If selected to be president, Brad Hodson would concentrate on building SVSU’s reputation.
Hodson, the current vice president for university advancement at Pittsburg State University in Kansas, answered questions from the SVSU community at the third presidential open forum.
Hodson said opportunities for SVSU to grow include strengthening the university’s branding, increasing private giving and working towards student satisfaction.
He said focusing on retention and graduation rates, expanding into new markets for students and improving the caliber of graduates would help the university build its brand. Enrollment expansion, however, is not the primary goal.
“Enrollment is not a great indicator of university success. It doesn’t tell the whole picture,” he said. “Let’s look at other, more meaningful metrics, like outputs … Read More…
Growth is an important focus for presidential finalist Gayle Ormiston.
The first presidential candidate open forum was held today as Ormiston, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Marshall University in W. Va., answered questions from students and faculty.
Ormiston has a background in teaching philosophy, with specialization in French and American philosophy, which he said influences his administrative style.
He plans to use this style to promote the growth of the university.
“It’s important for SVSU to grow certain graduate programs,” Ormiston said.
He said that it was unclear to him which programs need to grow.
He also spoke of growth in international populations.
At Marshall University, Ormiston has been part of efforts to increase international diversity. … Read More…
At SVSU’s Healthy Food Fest, seven out of ten students polled said they learned something new about eating healthy at the Marketplace at Doan.
Going into its second year, this year’s Healthy Food Fest was hosted by Dining Services, Campus Recreation, Peer Health Educators (PHE) and Active Minds.
Assistant Director of Fitness Programs Andrea Hamlin said they wanted to “reshape” the Marketplace after seeing the success of other food festivals, such as the International Food Fest and Soul Food Fest.
Vanguard photo | Arianna Paver
At the Healthy Food Fest, students had a chance to try something new as every station was taken over by healthy food, offering items like smoothies, tofu burgers, chicken taco meat and lettuce wraps. Each
… Read More…
Filling the role of the next president of SVSU will take someone with a special set of qualities.
Following President Eric Gilbertson’s announcement of his intent to retire, the SVSU Board of Control appointed a Presidential Search Advisory Committee.
To search for candidates, the university created a profile to inform potential applicants about the university and what the position would entail.
The profile listed “desired attributes of the next president,” qualities that would be present in an “energetic and experienced leader.” According to Dave Abbs, chair of the presidential search advisory committee, these qualities were the main guidelines used when considering candidates.
These attributes include integrity; strategic planning skills, both with resources and team building; strong communication skills; and a … Read More…
Internet-related incidents on campus that were “clearly inappropriate and possibly even illegal” were behind last fall’s adult-content website filter, said President Eric Gilbertson.
Gilbertson’s letter was in response to Residence Housing Association’s unanimously passed resolution to write a letter of dissent to the university about the anti-malware policy, which affects all computers that use the university’s Internet service.
“There have been unfortunate incidents when these resources were being used to access materials and websites that are clearly inappropriate and possibly even illegal,” he wrote. “These incidents triggered the adoption of this policy. As the presiding administrative officer for the University I have a clear duty to prevent such abuses.”
Over the summer, former SVSU assistant professor Robert J. Thaler was … Read More…
Improving student retention and increasing enrollment numbers are two focuses for programs being put in place by the university.
9,729 students are enrolled at SVSU for the winter semester. 631 are international students from 33 different countries, which is a new record for the semester.
The enrollment total is down 300 students compared to last year. However, the total number of credit hours only declined 1.64 percent, which is better than expected.
There is usually a little bit of a drop between the fall and the winter semester in enrollment numbers every year. However, according to Nick Wagner, special assistant to the vice president for enrollment management, this number has stayed relatively consistent during the past five years. This drop-off … Read More…
Even on their day off, SVSU students gathered together in the Thompson Student Activities Room to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day by making blankets for children in need.
Hosted by Student Life, their goal was to make 50 blankets for the Project Linus Foundation. This charity organization has chapters in all 50 states and collect comfort blankets for children in need.
The blankets made by the efforts of the SVSU students will be staying in the Great Lakes Bay Region, according to Associate Director of Student Life Katrina Friedeberg.
This is the third year that Project Linus was Student Life’s choice of charity on MLK Jr. Day, and last year saw around 90 students that swiped in to volunteer … Read More…
Colleges need other colleges, and Student Association of Michigan (SAM) is keeping their connection alive.
Each month, members from 15 of Michigan’s public universities’ Student Associations gather in one place for a conference. The universities take turns holding the event.
This month’s conference was Jan. 18 and 19 at Western Michigan University.
The conference is a weekend-long event that gives students the opportunity to discuss both problems and triumphs on their campuses.
It begins Saturday morning with officer reports. Saturday is also when students listen to speakers such as university administration, congressmen or local mayors.
“Lawmakers come in, and we like to have good communication with them for the students,” said Joey Rexford, Speaker of the Association.
The group discusses … Read More…
First years and returning students alike are getting a Jump Start into the winter semester with Project R.E.D.
The winter Jump Start consists of several academic-focused workshops developed through Project R.E.D., which represents Retaining, Educating and Developing.
The workshops are centered on the skills that will help students be successful in future classes. The project also includes leadership development and referrals to other offices, such as Career Services.
Raven Williams, one of the assistant directors at multicultural services, is confident that events such as Jump Start benefit students who decide to utilize the resources provided.
“For some students, this is just like having to get a battery jumped periodically,” Williams said. “We just need to reiterate and remind students of … Read More…
