On Feb. 20, the campus was invited to President’s Hour in the Harley Hall MPR. An hour was dedicated to all members of campus to ask the questions they want answers to. The questions were directed toward SU President Charles Patterson and members of his administration, including Manuel Ruiz, Dean of Students Lorie Davis and many other staff members who serve the Shippensburg University campus.
Some of the questions focused on transportation for students and how to expand the current services of transportation to ensure students feel safer. The administration said they would be “looking into the safeness of transportation as well as expanding transportation to operate more conveniently for students.”
There were also questions about enrollment and retention for students and the plan to make Shippensburg look more appealing to potential students, as well as expanding online courses. The administration’s response revolved around looking through the curriculum process as well as analyzing which programs can have certificates attached to them and what that would look like. The whole process is being worked on extensively and carefully.
Other questions were raised about elevator services, which were described as “death boxes.” Some students brought up the slowness of the elevators as well as concerns with the elevators’ inconsistencies and getting stuck. Administration responded that all elevators are up to date and the slowness is an issue that cannot be fixed.
Though there were many questions about campus concerns like customer service and response time for student accounts, the audience was able to give graces to the administration in regard to the positive changes to the dining hall. There has been a wider variety of food as well as an improvement in taste that students appreciate.
As for the feeling of the students who asked questions, many felt as though this President’s Hour was successful, and the response to those concerns showed the administration’s readiness to enact positive changes.
“I find President’s Hour to be fun and a great opportunity to get the answers that normally would not be given,” senior Chase Slenker said.
Overall, President’s Hour was a success and students are looking forward to seeing the administration act on the concerns it heard.
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