After two years of Jay Perry’s service on the President’s Coordinating Council, the upper-administration has been treated with a new face and new opinions in the new Student Government Association President Mike Cappel.
Cappel, only the second student to serve on the University’s decision-making body, joins two other new representatives, Randy Sprague, Ph.D., president of the Faculty Senate, and Gwenn Asher, chair of the Staff Advisory Committee.
“Shared governance is where all the stakeholders have a say in the decision-making process,” said Cappel. “They’re all trying to decipher what’s best for the University.”
The PCC consists of the president, provost, vice presidents, two academic deans, SGA president, Faculty Senate president and SAC chair.
Cappel described the group as an “interesting collection of decision makers who confront all the issues across the University.”
Sprague, a professor of pharmacological and physiological science, described his first impressions, “It’s a very open discussion. We’ve had some heated discussions.”
He added, “You definitely have the opportunity to speak.”
Asher, who is also a training supervisor for the Department of Public Service, said, “I felt very much a part of what was going on.”
With each new representative come new issues to be emphasized and new approaches to the role of representative.
Cappel sees his role as “consistently making sure the PCC understands what is important to the students.” One of his top issues is the Busch Memorial Center renovations, on which he expects to continually work with the PCC and the BMC Renovations Committee to complete.
Despite being the youngest member of the committee, Cappel does not feel left out of the processes. “The majority of the council think of me as an equal,” he said.
Sprague approaches his role as one of asking how each issue being discussed helps further the academic mission of the University.
“The provost wants excellence, but we need to be sure we have the opportunities to succeed,” said Sprague.
Asher’s main emphasis is on family issues, such as the cost of health insurance. “My (major) issue is anything involving the family,” she said.
