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Student Government Association Holds Annual State of the University Address
September 19, 2014
The Student Government Association (SGA) held its annual State of the University Address recently, which provided an opportunity for the student body to interact directly with Georgia Southern University administration.
During the event, attended by more than 300 students, administrative vice presidents, various deans and other faculty and staff members, President Brooks Keel, Ph.D., welcomed the student body and spoke about the exciting new facilities and academic programs underway.
“It’s been an exciting year already,” said Keel. “Enrollment for our University is stable and that is a good thing. We’re at about 20,500 students now and we’re going to do everything we can to keep us at that level.”
Keel discussed the locations and prospective opening dates for the Health Center, the Shooting Sports Education Center and the Military Science building, then thanked students for voting to make possible the
expansion of Allen E. Paulson Stadium and the new
Football Operations Center.
“We have several new academic programs, not the least of which is
manufacturing engineering," Keel said. "We’re excited for what that’s going to do for Georgia Southern, not only for the students, but for the ability to meet workforce needs and other needs across the state.” In his closing remarks, he encouraged students to follow him on Twitter, holding up a large banner that read “
@PresKeel.”
Keel’s opening remarks were followed by short speeches from Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jean Bartels, Ph.D., Teresa Thompson, Ph.D., vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and Rob Whitaker, vice president for Business and Finance. In addition, Dean of Students Patrice Buckner Jackson was also on the panel. Each administration member gave a brief overview of their areas, covering a range of topics that included the
QEP student writing contest, the
Eagles in D.C. program and the opening of the new Auxiliary Services spaces:
GUS Mart and
Tech Corner.
The president of SGA, Azell Francis, then opened the floor for questions from the student body, as well as on Twitter using
#StateOfTheU.
“As SGA we take great pride in knowing that we serve as the official voice of students to faculty, staff and administration,” said Francis. “Far too often, students across the nation feel unheard or underrepresented. At Georgia Southern University, we embrace the quote from the great philosopher who said, ‘We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.’ This event, State of the University is just that.” She also took the moment to remind students of the services offered by SGA, namely the Shuttle Gus safe ride initiative which provided 4,000 rides to students in 2013, and the Eagles to Eagles Program, a student-led initiative to raise money for other Georgia Southern students who have experienced financial hardship.
Students’ concerns included the recent off-campus deaths of two students in Eagle Nation and what the University could do to help prevent such things from happening. Other questions raised concerns about parking, dining plans, Hanner Fieldhouse construction and stressed the need for adding more counselors to the Georgia Southern University Counseling Center.
Lighthearted questions streamed in from Twitter, garnering fun answers from @PresKeel:
The evening ended with a tweet from @PresKeel including a selfie with members of SGA:
The
Student Government Association meets at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday in the Russell Union Ballroom.
“As SGA we take great pride in knowing that we serve as the official voice of students to faculty, staff and administration,” said Francis. “Far too often, students across the nation feel unheard or underrepresented. At Georgia Southern University, we embrace the quote from the great philosopher who said, ‘We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.’ This event, State of the University is just that.” She also took the moment to remind students of the services offered by SGA, namely the Shuttle Gus safe ride initiative which provided 4,000 rides to students in 2013, and the Eagles to Eagles Program, a student-led initiative to raise money for other Georgia Southern students who have experienced financial hardship.
Students’ concerns included the recent off-campus deaths of two students in Eagle Nation and what the University could do to help prevent such things from happening. Other questions raised concerns about parking, dining plans, Hanner Fieldhouse construction and stressed the need for adding more counselors to the Georgia Southern University Counseling Center.
Lighthearted questions streamed in from Twitter, garnering fun answers from @PresKeel:
The evening ended with a tweet from @PresKeel including a selfie with members of SGA:
The Student Government Association meets at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday in the Russell Union Ballroom.