The new Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Jen Shaw, had a lot to share at the Senate meeting two weeks ago.
The meeting was held last Wednesday, Feb. 6, and was the Senate’s third meeting this semester. Although it is her first semester at Saint Leo University, she has already begun work on multiple projects. Here are some of them:
Shaw gave more details about the upcoming Wellness Center. The Wellness Center is planned to have an infinity pool, gym, basketball courts, recreational rooms and a terrace that looks over Lake Jovita.
It will be located past Benedictine Hall (near Marmion and Snyder). There are also plans to move counseling and the health center from DeChantal to the new Wellness Center.
Shaw also discussed building more academic buildings and dorms up the hill.
“That west area [near Marmion]is going to be like a village. It’ll be the Wellness Center. It’ll be residence halls. It could [have]some academic buildings,” said Shaw.
Shaw hopes that the new freshman dorms will stray away from the traditional freshman dorms, where there are community bathrooms, and switch to a style similar to that of the apartments. Because there are plans to host more camps and conferences during the summer, Shaw feels like the apartment-style design will better accommodate the people using these halls during this time.
Shaw also plans to improve Career Services. One of her goals is to increase Career Services’ staff size and to bring in a specialist to help international students find jobs.
“For a school our size, we should have a much bigger Career Services staff. They should be doing a lot more programming [and have]a lot more employers [come]to campus. Because when you graduate, there should be a whole lot of help making sure that you’re getting your dream job,” said Shaw.
Shaw confirmed that there will be a Starbucks on campus, but they are still looking for a place to renovate to house the new Starbucks. According to Shaw, all the baristas will be students. Also, Shaw said that everyone who is not a senior will be able to see both Starbucks and the Wellness Center within their time at Saint Leo.
A potential Starbucks on campus is one of the most anticipated additions to University Campus, along with the wellness Center. Credit: @ubereats
Shaw also discussed adding new transportation options on campus. She is currently trying to find a cost-effective way to get a bus to make daily trips to common places such as Walmart, Publix, East Campus and the airport.
She is also trying to implement a car share program (similar to Zipcar), where students would reserve a time slot to rent a car.
Any student, both national and international, would be able to use this service and it would be covered by insurance. Shaw hopes that, if the service is implemented, it will be free or at a low cost to students.
Shaw also threw around some ideas for a food pantry or a student garden, where students would be able to get food when other food services are not available.
For the student garden, students would be given a plot of land to tend to. They would be able to either eat the food they grow or donate it to the food pantry.
Shaw also began talks of implementing a policy where if a resident is hospitalized and has no family with them, then the resident’s RA must go to the hospital with them.
This prevents injured students from going to the hospital alone and allows the RA to provide support to the injured student.
“If we know you’re going to the hospital…and if you don’t have any family or friends, [your RA]will be that for you,” said Shaw.
Shaw discussed new procedures that have been implemented to help homeless students.
These procedures allow the school to provide food and residence halls to these students until they can get back on their feet.
“[Homelessness] happens more than you think, unfortunately,” said Shaw.
Shaw hopes that these new procedures will allow the University to help the homeless students faster than ever before.
Senate Update 4/6/19
- The Research and Marketing Committee has set a date for Senate week. The week will be held from March 25-29 and will showcase a different Senate Committee every day. They also plan to add flyer holders in the bathroom stalls.
2. The Environmental Committee has sent allocation forms to request money for the new recycling bins in the residence halls. The bins will be for cans and bottles only.
3. The Philanthropy Committee is hosting a walk to fight against brain tumors March 23. They are also planning to host a CPR class in late March or early April.
4. The Junior Committee’s class trip will be a Dinner Cruise hosted by Starship Yachts. The cruise will be April 5. It will start in Tampa and the trip will last for three hours.
