Recently elected WGA campaign gets off to a fast start
David Golden, WG'08
Issue date: 4/2/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Consistent with the WGA Executive Board's mission to drive results and influence the administration, the recently elected WGA Executive Council (The Council) began quickly on an ambitious plan to implement positive change at Wharton.
The Council held its first two council meetings on March 14th and March 27th. To enhance information sharing and open lines of communication, the Council is providing the following summary of those two meetings and will continue to provide a summary for all future meetings.
The Council meets bi-monthly and serves the purpose of providing a forum for student representatives (including the Executive Board, Divisional Vice Presidents and Executive Directors) to address the issues affecting the student body.
President Jay Dearborn welcomed the Council and reiterated the important role of its individual members to represent the needs of the student body and to be accountable to them.
The Council debated the merits of and voted on of a number of proposals brought before the board and made the following decisions:
Approved additional discretionary funding for the Volleyball Club: The Council unanimously approved a maximum of $450 in additional funds to be distributed to the Volleyball Club in the event of increases in gym fees related in part to the HBS/Wharton Volleyball Tournament.
Approved the re-instatement of the Automotive Club: The Council unanimously approved to reinstate the Automotive Club as a Wharton Professional Club. Representatives of the Automotive Club presented a strong case by citing the strong interest from the student body for its continuation. They also provided a clear vision for the club's future by stating the future goal of raising awareness of professional opportunities in the automotive industry, not only in automotive manufacturing but also in consulting, banking (equities research) and advertising. Concerns were raised about the ability of the club to maintain its membership size in the future given the small club size and prior loss of members. The Council was reassured, however, by the fact that the club is including first year students on the current board for two year terms to establish continuity.
Approved the distribution of funds to Partners Club: The Council unanimously approved $900 in additional funds to be distributed to the Partners Club for the use of an extra trolley during Welcome Weekend. The high demand for the trolley resulted from enthusiastic support for the Partners Club's Wharton Welcome Weekend event.
In addition to voting at the Council meetings, the Executive Directors and Divisional Vice Presidents have been hard at work developing execution plans which they plan to implement over the course of the next year. To give the student body a better sense of the role that the Council members will play in the WGA, we've highlighted below a quick snapshot of some of the key goals of Craig Isakow and Dana Wade, the Alumni Affairs Executive Directors.
Strengthen and broaden the student/alumni connection: Craig and Dana plan to develop symbiotic relationships between External Affairs, Alumni, Administrators, and students. They plan to continue to push for world class tools, including overseeing and improving the roll out of the "New WAVE" system as well as maintaining "WhartonConnect". They also plan to increase face-to-face interaction between students and alumni through school-wide and club-driven events, develop an "AlumniConnect" brand and define and increase the responsibilities of student cohort alumni representatives, leveraging their passion for alumni issues.
Run a world class pledge drive: Craig and Dana plan to increase effectiveness, transparency and student involvement in the pledge drive. They plan to increase the participation rate by building a sense of pride, commitment and duty around the Wharton brand and bridge cultural divides by leveraging clubs and alumni from other regions.
Increase Internal Student Coordination: Craig and Dana plan to work closely with career and academic representatives to leverage alumni. They also plan to empower clubs to utilize alumni resources and work with WGA leadership to convey a clear message to alumni stakeholders.
The WGA has also initiated a number of surveys intended to address salient concerns of the student body such as grade non-disclosure. The WGA plans to publish the results of these initiatives in upcoming Journal articles.
The Council members encourage students to reach out to them with their questions, concerns, and ideas. They are excited about their start and looking forward to working closely with the student body to implement positive change.
The Council held its first two council meetings on March 14th and March 27th. To enhance information sharing and open lines of communication, the Council is providing the following summary of those two meetings and will continue to provide a summary for all future meetings.
The Council meets bi-monthly and serves the purpose of providing a forum for student representatives (including the Executive Board, Divisional Vice Presidents and Executive Directors) to address the issues affecting the student body.
President Jay Dearborn welcomed the Council and reiterated the important role of its individual members to represent the needs of the student body and to be accountable to them.
The Council debated the merits of and voted on of a number of proposals brought before the board and made the following decisions:
Approved additional discretionary funding for the Volleyball Club: The Council unanimously approved a maximum of $450 in additional funds to be distributed to the Volleyball Club in the event of increases in gym fees related in part to the HBS/Wharton Volleyball Tournament.
Approved the re-instatement of the Automotive Club: The Council unanimously approved to reinstate the Automotive Club as a Wharton Professional Club. Representatives of the Automotive Club presented a strong case by citing the strong interest from the student body for its continuation. They also provided a clear vision for the club's future by stating the future goal of raising awareness of professional opportunities in the automotive industry, not only in automotive manufacturing but also in consulting, banking (equities research) and advertising. Concerns were raised about the ability of the club to maintain its membership size in the future given the small club size and prior loss of members. The Council was reassured, however, by the fact that the club is including first year students on the current board for two year terms to establish continuity.
Approved the distribution of funds to Partners Club: The Council unanimously approved $900 in additional funds to be distributed to the Partners Club for the use of an extra trolley during Welcome Weekend. The high demand for the trolley resulted from enthusiastic support for the Partners Club's Wharton Welcome Weekend event.
In addition to voting at the Council meetings, the Executive Directors and Divisional Vice Presidents have been hard at work developing execution plans which they plan to implement over the course of the next year. To give the student body a better sense of the role that the Council members will play in the WGA, we've highlighted below a quick snapshot of some of the key goals of Craig Isakow and Dana Wade, the Alumni Affairs Executive Directors.
Strengthen and broaden the student/alumni connection: Craig and Dana plan to develop symbiotic relationships between External Affairs, Alumni, Administrators, and students. They plan to continue to push for world class tools, including overseeing and improving the roll out of the "New WAVE" system as well as maintaining "WhartonConnect". They also plan to increase face-to-face interaction between students and alumni through school-wide and club-driven events, develop an "AlumniConnect" brand and define and increase the responsibilities of student cohort alumni representatives, leveraging their passion for alumni issues.
Run a world class pledge drive: Craig and Dana plan to increase effectiveness, transparency and student involvement in the pledge drive. They plan to increase the participation rate by building a sense of pride, commitment and duty around the Wharton brand and bridge cultural divides by leveraging clubs and alumni from other regions.
Increase Internal Student Coordination: Craig and Dana plan to work closely with career and academic representatives to leverage alumni. They also plan to empower clubs to utilize alumni resources and work with WGA leadership to convey a clear message to alumni stakeholders.
The WGA has also initiated a number of surveys intended to address salient concerns of the student body such as grade non-disclosure. The WGA plans to publish the results of these initiatives in upcoming Journal articles.
The Council members encourage students to reach out to them with their questions, concerns, and ideas. They are excited about their start and looking forward to working closely with the student body to implement positive change.
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