On Wednesday, April 16, the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse Student Association (SA) gathered to discuss resolutions and to hear about the strategic planning process from Assistant Dean to the College of Science and Health (CSH) and Strategic Planning Engagement Committee (SPEC) Co-Chair Whitney George.
UWL’s 2025-2030 Strategic Plan will be used as a guiding framework for the direction of the university and future decision-making. George said the plan will have the following three primary principles: community engagement, transparency and accountability.
George said the plan is still in the data collection stage, which involves analyses of the campus community, past campus climate surveys, fellow institutions and the La Crosse community.
As ways of receiving input, SPEC visits with shared governance groups on campus and has hosted four round-table sessions, with five more to come, for students to share their hopes, insights and ideas. To sign up for a round-table session, click here. For individuals who cannot attend the sessions, a survey will be sent out to students in May to provide feedback.
“I can tell you that in the round-table sessions that I’ve heard, diversity, equity and inclusion has come up in every single one,” George said.
The previous strategic plan’s principles were excellence through equity and diversity, investing in our people and influencing transformational education. In the new plan, those big ideas will still be incorporated, but George said the previous data collection methods were not equitable enough, as a workshop of just 70 hand-selected individuals was used.
“I do not think that these are going to be going away in this new plan, but I do see the new plan as being a continuation of a lot of the things that we aspire to,” she said. “We wanted to make sure that we were involving our whole community, which is why we’re hosting as many round-table sessions as possible.”
In her officer report, Sustainability Director Felicia Ritzke encouraged SA to attend the Earthapalooza Earth Week Celebration and Vendor Fair from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 25, on the Student Union Lawn. The annual Marsh Clean-Up is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. the next day, Saturday, April 26, at Lueth Park.
In unfinished business, SA discussed a resolution written by Senators Lizzy Handstedt, Anastasia Grochowski, Alexa Fleegal and Amelia Fortner, titled “SA2425-030: Resolution to Recommend the Implementation of a Revision Week Policy at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.” Senator Fleegal proposed that it would be best to table the resolution indefinitely. The SA body unanimously agreed.
In new business, Senator Morgan Hahn brought forth her resolution titled “SA2425-031: Resolution to Recommend Faculty Senate to Implement a Policy on Timely Feedback on the First Exam of a Course.” SA will continue discussion on the resolution in their next meeting.
The results of the April 15 Student Association election are as follows:
President of Student Association:
Emma Wittman (350 votes)
Vice President of Student Association:
Cisco Garcia (428 votes)
Senators for the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities:
Alexis Rogness (139 votes)
Max Van Asten (120 votes)
Ethan Fitzgerald (120 votes)
Cole McCue (112 votes)
Senators for the College of Business Administration:
Avery Ladd-Winders (85 votes)
Joseph Held (80 votes)
Matthew Slavic (73 votes)
Marlee Simpson (71 votes)
Grant Hohman (69 votes)
Senators for the College of Science and Health:
Ellen Poels (143 votes)
Alexa Fleegal (136 votes)
Swasthika Selvakumar (128 votes)
Krish Neupane (127 votes)
Anna Neuenfeldt (125 votes)
Gabriella Cornejo (123 votes)
Emily Fechner (3 write-in votes)
Senators for the School of Education:
No candidates were elected
The individuals elected have not yet been sworn in.
SA will meet again on Wednesday, April 23, to continue discussion and bring forth new resolutions.
