President Shaw proposes new governance structure

Alana Crosby

Editor-in-Chief

Plans are underway to explore new options for the governance structure of Southern Adventist University, according to President Ken Shaw at a Feb. 15 Q&A session held in the Presidential Banquet Room in Wright Hall. The structural changes being considered were presented again Monday at an employee town hall meeting in Lynn Wood Hall.

At the Feb. 15 meeting, Shaw said the new structure will start its pilot year in the 2023-2024 school year. The restructuring plans are not set in stone, according to Shaw, as the university deciphers which proposed changes are working well.

Shaw said when he arrived in 2021, he went over the handbook and started to explore ways the university could improve. After consulting with The President’s Cabinet, Shaw brought in Credo, a consulting group out of North Carolina. The group works with higher education institutions to make them more efficient, according to Shaw.

“I began to have conversations with individuals on campus, and one instrumental person was Dr. Keith Snyder,” Shaw said during the meeting. “He talked about some of the committee work that had been done and how, sometimes, it might take two years to get certain things completed, how cer-

Southern Accent

The Accent encourages readers to write articles and voice their opinions. However, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Accent, Southern Adventist University or the Seventh-day Adventist Church. For any questions, comments and article submission information, email the editor at acrosby@southern.edu tain committees didn't function well and those types of things.”

For all advertising inquiries, email studentadmgr@southern.edu.

Shaw created a task force headed by Rachel Williams-Smith, Faculty Senate chair and dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, to review the changes suggested by Credo. Williams-Smith was present at the meeting along with fellow task force members Janell Hullquist, associate director for Marketing and University Relations, and Ben Thompson, systems specialist.

“We've been doing a deep dive into a lot of information, and we've identified some areas where we still have more work to do,” Hullquist said. “ … We're looking at communication recommendations to keep people informed and to make sure that the right voices are being included in decision making.”

Among other changes, the governance structure is now divided into four types of convening bodies: councils, committees, governance committees and task forces. In the proposed structure, each vice president is in charge of several committees. As presented in Credo’s proposal, there are three categories of governance: academic, administrative and university consultation.

After explaining the proposed changes, Shaw opened the floor for questions. First Year Experience Coordinator Renita Moore expressed con-

Editor-in-Chief

Alana Crosby

Managing Editor Amanda Blake

News Editor Matthew Orquia

Collegedale News Editor Elsie Pak cern over dissolving smaller committees, resulting in too many topics for larger committees to discuss in a timely manner. In response to this, Shaw stated that the pilot year is to work out whether the changes are beneficial or not.

“So, either the committee is expanded or extended or maybe you need another committee that just focuses on something in particular, right?” Shaw said. “That's part of the iterative process moving forward. So, you know, if it's not working, we need to go back to the old in terms of having that committee.”

Another attendee raised the question of flexibility given that the new structure does not work in a specific area of university governance.

“Just because you have a governance structure today, doesn't mean that we can't shift and modify tomorrow,” Shaw said in response to the question. “If something isn't working, we should change it and make it more efficient, make it more effective. So, both of those things are extremely important moving forward. We should never say it's a done deal. But this is quite a significant change, and so that's why we're thinking about [piloting] this. Let's begin to engage and make the necessary modifications moving forward.”

Social Media Manager Anna Estep

Lifestyle Editor Elise Deschamps

Photo Editor Adam De Lisser

Religion Editor Madison Wilcox

Opinion Editor Christina Cannon

Sports Editor Jacob Nevis

Copy Editors

Stefanie Green

Layout Designers

Anton Kannenberg

Hannah Mortenson

Web Manager

Nickolas Nieves

Circulation Manager Norelie Cabrera Reporters

Génesis Ventura Kathy Zelidon

Hannah Johnson

Photographers Ron Cabacungan

Mila Bales

Staff Sponsor Alva James-Johnson

Sa Elections

continued from page 1 help students improve their mental health, physical health, spirituality and social life.

“I believe God has given us amazing skills and talents that are just waiting to be unleashed,” he said.

Chandler ended his speech by saying, “I’m ready to serve you, fight for you and be your voice.”

Zach Kirstein, senior finance major, is also running for president. During his speech, he said he also wants to help improve the students' spiritual lives and mental health.

“It is my goal as your SA presi- dent to enhance our communication together,” he said.

He wants to bring cultures together and proposed an SA culture night when all the cultural clubs come together.

Kirstein’s goal is to help students in areas of mentality, spiritual life and social life.

Both Kirstein and Chandler want to focus on bringing people closer together next school year.

Something they both mentioned is adding blue emergency pole lights around campus. These emergency poles have buttons on them, and if someone is in danger or feels unsafe, they can press the button and Campus Safety will be alerted.

David Lazcano, junior biology major, is one of the two candidates running for vice president. His motto is “courage, integrity and determination.” He said in his speech that he wants to help get new lights on the promenade so students feel safer while walking back from night classes. Lazcano also said he wants to improve the Hulsey Wellness Center’s dress code in a way that will please the students.

Also running for vice president is Dain Ochoa, junior allied health major.

“I’ve always enjoyed being on a team that creates change,” Ochoa said during his speech.

He added that change is enacted when people feel comfortable to speak out.

Running for social vice president is Lauren Fenwick, junior business-public relations major. Fenwick’s speech was about making students’ years at Southern Adventist University more memorable.

“I’m running because I have a passion for helping people connect,” she said in her speech.

One of Fenwick’s goals is to bring people together through events on campus. She stated that her motto is “connect, thrive and grow together.”

Where does Student Association get its money? How is it spent?

Kathy Zelidon Reporter

As Southern Adventist University’s student population prepares to elect new Student Association (SA) leadership, current SA leaders provided the Accent with information about the group’s budget in previous years.

The first question students might ask about the budget is, “Where does SA get its money?” A close look at students’ financial statements would reveal a fee called the “general fee.”

Doug Frood, associate vice president for Financial Administration, explained that 19% of each student’s general fee is allocated to SA’s budget, and this is where 90% of SA’s revenue comes from. For each student, this amounts to $170 a semester, or $340 every academic year. A previous Accent article on the university’s budget explained that the remaining percentage of students’ general fees goes to multiple school expenses, including technology and wellness.

The remaining 10% of SA’s budget, Frood said, comes from charging students directly at events for miscellaneous add-ons.

According to the Southern Adventist University website, southern.edu, SA’s mission is to “serve and represent the student body in all facets of university life.” Briana Collins, SA’s financial vice president, explained that services and events for students, such as Senate, the Accent, Strawberry Festival and clubs, rely on SA’s budget to fund their projects throughout the school year.

In an email, Collins stated that the budget is divided into five major sections: Strawberry Festival receives 5%, Senate 13%, The Accent 14%, Executive (Smile Initiatives, 423 Night, etc.) 17% and Social receives the most at 22% of the overall budget. The way the money is allocated each year depends on the need presented by each section.

“That's why, for Senate, we really encourage them to spend their budget on their projects. Otherwise, their budget could be cut. If they're not using the money, then we're not gonna keep giving money,” Collins said. “Budget increases for a certain group if they use a majority of their money.” Collins would not share the total amount of money in SA’s budget with the Accent, as SA does not want to disclose that information to students.

According to Collins, due to a steady influx of students over the past few years, SA’s budget has increased.

“The budget is calculated by the amount of students that come. That gives us a total revenue, and each account can increase by that amount. So an increase in students just increases the amount,” she said.

Once SA calculates the revenue for the upcoming school years, they meet with sponsors and administrative leaders to decide where to allocate funds.

“People in SA can't do something without getting approval from everyone,” Collins said.

Before enacting a plan for an event or program, the project has to receive approval from Dennis

Negrón, vice president for Student Development; Teri Reutebuch, administrative assistant for Student Development; Kari Shultz, director of Student Life and Activities; and Danny Johns, head cashier for Accounting Services, according to Collins.

She said SA works closely with Frood to “look at information from previous years” and create a budget for the upcoming year. The budget is then presented to Senate, where the body has a chance to either accept or decline the proposal. Senate has the opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns over aspects of the new budget.

The price range for the event depends on its size and the specific events the SA social vice president has in mind, Collins added.

“Big parties,” such as the Welcome Back Party, cost SA an average of $10,000, while smaller ones, such as the Super Bowl Watch Party, cost about $2,000, she said.

A recent change in the budget due to the loss of Memories and

Studio 4109 led SA to fund Game Show Day, a convocation event held on Jan. 13.

“We [previously] had Memories and Studio; those were more areas that we put money into,” Collins said. “We did get all of our money cut for Studio; and in the next year, we're not gonna have any budget for Memories. So that's why this year we had a little bit of extra money to work with.” SA uses leftover funds from the past academic years to help fund other projects around campus.

Frood said SA has been adding money to the endowment fund for international studies, funded the kitchen area outside in the promenade and helped fund the basketball courts outside the Hulsey Wellness Center.

According to Collins, Senate is the best way students can voice their opinions and suggestions for the SA budget.

“I think Senate is a good way to contribute,” she said. “If students want to make a change in the budget, they can voice their concerns.”