January Board of Trustees WSA Update

Below is a copy of the current cabinet update. Executive Vice President Wright's speech at the Board of Trustees Meeting on January 21, 2021.

January Board of Trustees WSA Update

"Has anyone seen President West? I am beginning to think she does not like these meetings…just kidding, she would love to be here, but is unable due to a previous commitment. Nevertheless, I am happy to step in for her today to provide updates to the Board. Even though it is not official, since you are chairing today’s session, I want to say Good Morning, Chair Chen-Zang For the first time ever! We are grateful to have you as the Board's new chair. Good morning to the rest of the Board as well; we hope you all enjoyed your holiday cards from the WSA family. Due to the Board's changes, I would like to congratulate and welcome Trustee Trevan and Trustee Turfe. I would be lying if I said I did not read up on your resumes after the Governor appointed you both to this position. I am happy to let everyone know that your credentials check out! All jokes aside, I want to thank you in advance for the oversight that you will contribute to this university over the next eight years.

Wow, we did it—the impossible. We made it through 2020. I think we all deserve a year off now. Unfortunately, we cannot afford to slow down. With the recent insurrection at our nation's capital and the installment of a new POTUS, we must continue to forge forward with change even though it has proven difficult.

Since our final update to the Board last year, we have been hard at work. Yes, even through break! I want to shout out our Vice President for Political Affairs, Emma Baratta, and Vice President Brenneman. These two worked on compiling CARES ACT testimonials and formatted and sent letters to our elected Michigan representation within the US House of Representatives and Senate. We believe these letters were well received and had a small hand in the additional millions we received in federal stimulus funding. Another major accomplishment is our new web address! For a couple of months, our Vice President for Information Technology, Charles Poole, and now Senate Speaker, Dakota Shapiro, have been working diligently to develop a new website that accurately fits our brand. Transitioning to the new website also allowed us to add new elements previously restricted by CMS. We are currently in the process of ensuring it is ADA compliant to be in line with the university's commitment to inclusion. Although it is still under minor construction and tweaks, we urge you all to visit us at wmuwsa.org and share your thoughts on the new website and how we're doing!

In terms of work on the COVID-19 front, we have held and established a regular meeting schedule with Associate VP Kara Wood and Dr. Gayle Ruggerio. I want to thank them both for always remaining open to hearing our thoughts and working collaboratively to move towards progress for our students. We requested and explained why it would be beneficial for students to get an additional two no-cost asymptomatic COVID-19 screenings. We are ecstatic that they delivered on this request! We have also committed to partnering with Sindecuse when the time for testing is near to promote the importance of getting vaccinated. The two will also be making their second appearance at our Joint Session of the Legislature next Wednesday.
I want to extend a big shout-out to Vice Presidents Alexis Morris and Kaylie Vinson, along with Secretaries Collin Holzberger and Dakota Shapiro. They are members of a committee I spearhead and the force behind the first installment of theLEGACY. For those of you who do not know, theLEGACY is a new monthly newsletter from the Western Student Association distributed across our entire campus community. The title is derived from our mission statement as we aim to "provide new opportunities to leave a legacy." One of my main goals coming into this position was establishing a direct line of communication with our constituents. It may have been needed before, but there was no time like the present to make this happen. After months of coordination and meetings with the administration, we were able to come together in record timing for our first newsletter. With this new platform, we will become more visible to our students, which is essential, especially during these times. Within the first issue, we included a short statement from our president, more information about who we are, how to be updated more regularly, and how to get in contact with us. One of its most important features is the incorporated short survey. This will allow us to have a feedback loop and gather needed data like our NPS score. I want to extend the most heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Anderson, Tony Proudfoot, and Megan Looker. I just received word that our open rate for our first communication was, to date, 40.9%—a whopping 10% higher than our ambitions.

What is on the horizon? So much more. This administration continues to move mountains for our students in what we hope will be a much more relaxed year. This week we welcomed a new Vice President for Public Relations, Mason Wnuk. We are confident that his expertise as a graphic designer will only propel our advocacy. This weekend, we kick off the semester with another cabinet retreat facilitated by the Office of Student Engagement. This retreat will allow us to reset and refocus as a team to end out our terms with vigor. It is crazy to think about, but it is almost election season. This year's revised Student Election Code was sent out as a read-only this week and will be presented and discussed on the floor next week. For the first time ever, we will have students within their college campaign for Senatorship, thus adding new weight to our Senator's work. This also means that we as an organization are beginning to think about preparing transitions to put the next administration on a strong foundation.

For the third time, WSA will host our Mental Health Week for the student body. We are proud to say that we will partner with the Graduate Student Association for this Mental Health Week. I emphasized a need for a continued drive aiding students' mental health. This is why I authored and passed legislation that will require WSA to hold semi-annual Mental Health Weeks. For a detailed list of events, we urge you to look towards our next issue of theLEGACY. However, I can tell you that there will be therapy dogs twice throughout the week!

We are proud to announce that WSA will continue its collaboration with WIDR in producing weekly podcasts about issues affecting our campus and community. We are also excited to announce that "The WSA Hour" is now widely available across several streaming platforms, including Spotify. New episodes are available weekly on Wednesdays at noon. We also want to remind the Board that social and environmental justice are at the forefront of our minds. Look out for upcoming partnerships between WSA and the Lewis Walker Institute, and the Office of Sustainability. We also want to make you aware of an advocacy workshop that VP Brenneman and Baratta are currently working on. We hear word that a special guest will be Senator Stabenow’s Chief of Staff.

To close out today, I would like to extend another huge thank you and verbalize immense appreciation to Dr. Kahler Scheumann. He has been a reliable straight shooter and a valued fountain for resiliency and renewed perseverance throughout our term. I can acknowledge that without him, the last seven months would have been near impossible.

By now, I am sure you are ready for me to yield back! But again, I will leave you all with a quote. This one has been a tagline for the administration, created by our president, and I am sure you have seen it on our emails. "Stronger together" Thank you."

by: Executive Vice President Jacobi Wright