By: Kira Tieman (Chief of Staff, SGA)

The semester is off to a great start with the Dean of Students search continuing.

Three candidates were brought to campus, where students and faculty had the opportunity to meet the candidates and ask questions concerning their professional background, as well as how they will benefit Wesley College if hired.

Many students appreciated this opportunity and give their input, regarding which individual they believed would be the best fit for students at Wesley.

SGA also brought the 2012 presidential election to campus last semester because SGA believes in the necessity of participating in the electoral process.

Students had opportunities to participate in the “Bully the Ballot” by wearing the shirts provided by SGA. Many students participated and it was a great reminder for students to get out and vote in the election.

Because SGA is aware of the fact that it can be difficult for college students away from home to vote, Vice President Bianca Bailey helped provide students with information regarding how to request an absentee ballot, as well as voter registration.

More than 200 students registered to vote and 40 submitted an absentee ballot.

SGA would like to thank all of those who participated and chose to vote in the 2012 presidential election!

SGA also initiated something new this semester: Wesley’s first Town Hall Meeting, which had the Cabinet of Wesley and students together. Students had the opportunity to ask questions about what’s happening on campus and get to know the cabinet a little more.

The cabinet includes: Dr. William Johnston (president); Dr. Patricia Dwyer (vice president for academic affairs); Dr. Colleen DiRaddo (interim dean of students); Alan Russell (interim chief financial officer & treasurer), Chris Wood (vice president for institutional advancement); and Dr. Howard Ballentine (dean of enrollment management).

Johnston spoke about the plan to expand campus and add more facilities to make the experience at Wesley better.

Cabinet members and students also talked about Wesley’s new Frear building for the nursing department, as well as other sciences.

Dwyer spoke about the search for a new registrar, including that students will be able to meet these candidates Feb. 12. A new librarian, Jessica Olin, has also started at Wesley.

DiRaddo released the new orientation theme for this year, which is “Dream, Discover, Do.”

Russell said that the college will be tripling their bandwidth of the Internet to provide faster speed while surfing the web. This will reduce the delay of the Internet during the busy times of the day.

Ballentine explained the necessity of showing prospective students the benefits of attending a small private liberal arts school. On average, each student applies to seven different schools, which means when a student comes and visits campus, we are up against six other schools.

Wood said it takes more money to run the college than how much money we, as students, pay. He works with alumni to fundraise, helping students out by giving institutional scholarships.

SGA plans to have these meetings annually, so that students can be engaged in the decisions and plans the cabinet has for Wesley.

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