SGA to recommend guidelines for next president

Dustin Skipworth

WKU’s Student Government Association will present a new resolution in their April 5 meeting that outlines possible qualities and policies of WKU’s 10th president.

The resolution has undergone some changes since it first appeared in last Tuesday’s meeting agenda. President Jay Todd Richey, who is a member of the university’s Presidential Search Committee, believes the resolution must be representative of students wishes.

“I could make a bulleted list of what I want to see,” Richey said, “but I want it to be as democratic as possible. That’s why we’re going through SGA.”

The resolution contains clauses describing the future president’s need to focus on academics, transparency and equality. Several senators have taken part in writing the resolution’s current iteration.

Richey said this is his official stance on WKU’s next president, but it isn’t necessarily the final draft.

“If the senate chooses to, then they can remove, edit or add clauses,” Richey said.

Another author, John Winstead, who is also a columnist for the Herald, was hopeful that the resolution could include a clause that might steer the next president toward community inclusion.

“We are incredibly insulated from the surrounding community,” Winstead said.

The resolution contains a clause on the future president’s need to recognize the Jonesville community: an area that has been built on and developed by WKU over time.

“The right thing was to never evacuate the people of Jonesville in the first place,” Winstead said. “That’s no excuse to do nothing.”

For another student senator and resolution author, Andi Dahmer, diversity, equality and inclusion are integral parts of the resolution. She is particularly excited to see the possibility of a change in the type of person heading the university.

“They have all been white males,” Dahmer said of WKU’s leadership. “It can be really important for people of all genders and classes and sexualities to see someone different in a high level of administration.”

The resolution will not be voted on in Tuesday’s meeting. It will simply be presented to the senate to review. Further debate on the resolution might take place in the next SGA meeting.

“It’s an amazing [opportunity] we have to have a voice in selecting our next president,” Dahmer said. “It’s very important for all students, not just senators, to participate in the selection.”