Senate spots filled, provost search updated at Jan. 14 SGA meeting
Student Government Association's newly-elected Senators are sworn into their positions in the Bovee University Center Auditorium Jan. 14.
The Central Michigan University Student Government Association reconvened for the Spring semester Jan. 14 with Senate elections and a briefing from Richard Rothaus, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
Rothaus detailed the ongoing provost search committee process and the required experience and skills of a potential candidate. Rothaus serves as co-chair on the 16-member search committee selected to find a new provost.
Last semester, Michael Gealt, executive vice president and provost, announced his resignation, effective on June 30.
“We need someone who is ready to take on the job and hit the ground running; that doesn’t necessarily mean they have to have been a provost, but they darn better know how a university runs at a very detailed level,” Rothaus said.
Rothaus stressed the importance of selecting the right candidate for the position, and the committee aims to have a new provost chosen by July 1.
“The provost is a long-standing position, so there isn’t a whole lot of work on defining what this position is,” Rothaus said. “We’re not reinventing the wheel there, but as a search committee, we have to get a good sense of what kind of person can fulfill that role at Central Michigan.”
Currently, the committee is working on networking and sharing advertisements for candidates. By April, the team expects to have a panel of candidates go through an interview process. The plans surrounding the staging interview are uncertain, but Rothaus has high hopes of “capturing the best people possible”.
“We don’t just want a provost - we want the provost,” he added.
After the interview processes, the vetted candidates will be presented to the campus community before being handed off to President Robert Davies for the final decision. In between these steps, students are encouraged to voice their opinions and participate in open forums.
“By the time (the candidates) arrive on campus, I’ve switched to recruiting mode and I’d like you (the students) to switch to recruiting mode too,” Rothaus said.
Senate elections
Of the thirteen available Senate seats, seven were claimed today. The others will remain vacant until the next semester, but with the new Senators, every college is represented.
"We want as many students to get involved and make a positive change on our campus," said SGA press secretary Nick Latuszek. "We promoted the positions through various means, but we are ecstatic and we welcome our new Senators."
SGA Budget
In a quick update, treasurer Chase Jaymz Delor covered the remaining SGA budget for the rest of the semester. He reported that SGA has a little under 40 percent left to spend on future projects.
"(Based on) how much time we have for those projects, this semester compared to last is pretty much exactly where we thought we'd be," Delor said. "We're in a good spot for all the projects we have planned."
