Perspectives Winter/Spring-2017

20 • NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Student Affairs During the 2016 summer semester, CHCS student leaders met every other week to draft a new Student Government Association (SGA) Constitution that would establish a singular student government in the college. The new SGA represents the college’s 29 diverse academic programs by giving voice to the needs of the students. In the past, each academic program had a student government that represented that program’s needs, but acted individually. While this system generally worked, it did not allow for additional collabo- rating and sharing of student government funds among the various SGAs. Brad Williams, Ed.D., NSU vice president for student affairs, convened a task force that included all CHCS student govern- ment presidents, student affairs staff members, and regional campus staff members. The task force met three times to reimagine the partner- ship between the Fort Lauderdale/Davie and regional campus student governments. In these meetings, the regional campus student leaders expressed their desire to receive funding and support that would match what students were receiving at the Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus. They also wanted equal representation in regard to college-wide decisions and planning. Following the discussions, Williams charged the student government presidents with establishing a new form of government that would create more equity between the various campuses and allow them to share governance. At the same time, he challenged them to accomplish this without receiving additional SGA funding. Throughout 2016, the CHCS student government presidents formed a Constitution Review Committee, which met every two weeks to brainstorm and envision a new model of student government. In the new model, it was agreed that the Fort Lauderdale/Davie and regional campus groups would each receive $7,500 annually, with any remaining funds being placed into a general college SGA fund. Each new program association will be able to request additional funding based on its proposals. This change has given all program associations the ability to serve their communities equitably. The Council of Presidents was developed to preside over the new college SGA, with each of the 19 presidents having a vote in matters affecting the budget and related decisions. n Student Leaders Form New Government BY JONATHON MAY, M.A., DIRECTOR OF STUDENT AFFAIRS