Written By: Christopher Hoffman & Tina Sears
There was standing room only at NSU’s fifth annual Town Hall Meeting, hosted by President George Hanbury II, on Jan. 17 in the Arena Club Room in the Don Taft University Center. Hanbury was joined by staff, faculty and deans from many different NSU colleges, departments and offices.
The meeting was held to give students an opportunity to voice their concerns or questions about the university to administrators. Hanbury told students that he will email a summary of the questions and answers to all NSU 28,000 students, from both the undergraduate meeting and the Jan. 15 meeting held with Health Professions Division students.
There were over 100 students at the President-run meeting, some of whom voiced their concerns about the university. Topics discussed included: the frequency at which Shark Shuttles run, why the main campus was among the last to close during Tropical Storm Sandy, and why a majority of campus job opportunities are not open to international students.
Vice President of Student Affairs Brad Williams, said that the Town Hall Meeting is significant because of its student-driven nature. “It’s important because what the students were expressing were all reasonable things, so the question is ‘how do we get better?’”
Student Government Association President Christopher Mignocchi brought up the issue of the slow wireless internet connectivity that students have been facing on campus. Hanbury explained that when NSU first installed wireless internet 10 years ago, they only expected 30 percent of students to connect. But now, the campus is experiencing connectivity at 300 percent because nearly every NSU student has three wireless devices. He said that improvements are already underway and should be completed by the end of January.
Sara Gawish, senior business administration major, asked about the water used in the sprinkler system on campus, and was met with applause from the audience. Gawish said, “The sprinklers on campus … it’s more than them just spraying us instead of the grass, but they are actually ruining people’s cars.”
Pete Witschen, Vice President for Facilities Management, explained that NSU currently uses well water in the irrigation system, which is the cause of the damage. Beginning this summer, the water source will be switched to reused water, in order to prevent future damage to employees’ and students’ cars.
Gawish also expressed concern that some members of athletic teams are unable to participate in commencement due to sports scheduling conflicts. Hanbury said he will try to do something special for the athletes who miss graduation.
Freshman biology major and Razor’s Edge member Jason Murphy was satisfied with how Hanbury answered each student’s question. Murphy said that Hanbury would add background information to each topic, for the benefit of students that may have not previously known about the issue, and then would specifically answer the question.
The president also brought up topics of his own, including the possibility of moving the commencement ceremony to main campus instead of the BB&T Center — formerly the Bank Atlantic Center, constructing a new research building near the Miami Dolphins training facility, and the administration’s plans for NSU’s 50th year celebration next fall.
Another concern of Hanbury’s was making sure that the university follows the eight core values established by administration. He stressed that he will use the university’s values in order to evaluate the performance of school employees.
“We may do a lot of talking about this vision and these core values, but I want us to walk the walk,” Hanbury said.
He also wants to lead NSU in doubling the undergraduate student population. He plans on accomplishing this task, in part, with NSU’s new marketing plan. He showed the new NSU television commercial, hoping to gain feedback from those attending the meeting.
The audience agreed with Hanbury that the commercial portrayed the school as having a productive, yet fun environment.
At the conclusion of the program, Haleigh Wilson, sophomore psychology major, said, “This town hall exceeded my expectations. I was very pleased with the variety of topics that were covered in the questions that were asked by the students, and the way that President Hanbury thoroughly addressed all of their concerns.”
Hanbury will also host employee town hall meetings through the end of the semester at different locations on and off campus, including the Miniaci Performing Arts Theatre, the Maltz Psychology Building and six different Student Education Centers throughout Florida. The next faculty town hall meeting, open to faculty, staff and administrators, is set for Jan. 25 at the Miami SEC. The final meeting is scheduled to take place on April 26 in the Maltz Psychology Building.
