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The School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Town Hall meeting sparks fellowship among students, faculty, and the Student Government Association

By November 22, 2019December 2nd, 2019No Comments

The School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences recently held a Town Hall meeting to give students and faculty the opportunity to voice concerns, give comments, and ask questions about the school.

Student Government Association President Jace McCauley and Vice President Heath Williamson led the meeting along with Senator Makenzie Langley to lend their presence to the student body and act on the proposed additions to the school’s resources. Dean Janaki Alavalapati was unable to attend, however Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Scott Enebak was present to address questions and take notes on topics of discussion and action items.

The limited availability of concessions was one topic addressed. Propositions included the possibility of adding a food truck in the vicinity of the school and increasing the number of vending machines within the building. One important topic brought up was the possible addition of a Tiger Transit bus stop at the school.

“There used to be a bus route that included our school, but because we have a smaller student body, they decided that not enough students were utilizing this resource and took the stop out,” said Langley.

Student access to printing was also discussed. Although there are student printers in the computer lab, it is often occupied by classes that do not wish to be disturbed. To remedy this, there may be a printer moved into the student lounge in order to make printing more readily available to students.

Scott Enebak announced that there have been five new additions to the school’s faculty. These include Yucheng Peng, assistant professor of Sustainable Packaging Systems, Todd Franks, professor of practice and program coordinator in Wildlife Enterprise Management, Kelly Dunning, assistant professor of Conservation Governance, Lana Narine, assistant professor of Geospatial Analytics, and Janna Willoughby, assistant professor of Population and Conservation Genetics.

“We are so excited for these faculty to begin creating courses and start teaching within the next year,” said Enebak.

Another topic presented was that the Student Government Association, or SGA, leaders feel as though they are a largely untapped resource to the student body.

Student Government Association President McCauley and Vice President Williamson intend to involve members of the school’s student body with large events across Auburn’s campus. Both want the students to know that they are here to provide a connection to the university administration.

The overall mission of the leaders is to embody the motto of Auburn’s Student Government Association: “Serving and promoting the individual student; unifying all that is Auburn.”

“Once our terms end, we want to leave the school and these positions better than we found them,” said McCauley.

By attending School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, or SFWS, events such as the Fall Ice-Breaker, the SGA is able to be the go between for those involved in the school.

“We are so grateful to have the chance to foster communication between students and the faculty and staff,” said Williamson.

Senator Langley feels that she represents the student body through her collection and consideration of feedback from SFWS students when voting in the University’s Senate, which includes at least one student Senator from each school or college.

“One of my goals for my term is to enhance our presence in the school,” said Langley.

Langley also intends to create a portfolio for prospective candidates about the senator position which would list the position responsibilities. President McCauley and Vice President Williamson hope to create the same for their positions as well.

These portfolios would provide students that are considering running for one of these positions with an invaluable resource for comparing their interests and skills with the leadership expectations.

In order to prepare to successfully fill one of these roles, student may consider gaining experience in the school’s other leadership positions, such as becoming a student ambassador.

All three representatives plan to visit the various degree-specific club meetings within the SFWS and further their coordination efforts with Director of Student Service Jodie Kenney.

(Written by Avanelle Elmore)

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