Two students, Miriam Fry and Aaron Zucker, have announced their candidacies for the office of vice president of academic affairs for this year’s SGA election.
Zucker, a junior majoring in broadcast news, said he hopes to fulfill his “duty” to the SGA by serving in this position.
“My passion for constantly trying to achieve academic excellence for this University comes directly from how my dad instilled it into me,” Zucker said. “I was not always the best student growing up, but my dad guided me towards the path of succeeding in the classroom. As VP of academic affairs, I want to supply the best resources and rules to set students up for academic success.”
Fry, a junior majoring in political science, said she is running for office out of her desire to serve the student body.
“I think it should be the purpose of the office for academic affairs to create student- friendly projects and initiatives, which I have achieved in the past [as a senator],” Fry said. “My experience, work ethic and genuine concern for the student body entrust I would thrive in this position.”
Both candidates have proposed several ways for improving the University’s academic environment.
Zucker said he hopes to reevaluate the current GPA system and establish a series of post-graduate exam preparatory classes, including GRE, MCAT, LSAT and GMAT courses that would be included with students’ tuition. One of his immediate goals, he said, is to allocate writing test booklets to large classroom buildings for students’ convenience.
“Students not heavily involved with SGA are always going to have issues, questions and concerns with academic affairs here at the Capstone,” he said. “The good news for them is that I genuinely enjoy interacting with students, and more times than not, I will be able to understand their mindset.”
Fry said she would like to add completed course evaluations to myBama so students can be prepared for selecting classes. She also said she wants to improve the advising Web site by making it possible to schedule advising appointments online and to chat live with advisors.
Additionally, she hopes to integrate eLearning with CrimsonMail to make online education easier and work with the SUPe store to make textbook prices more affordable.
“It is my vision for the office of academic affairs to always have an open door, and to truly listen to student concerns,” she said. “I would like the student body to know that if elected, I will spend every day working and fighting to help UA put academics first.”
Tyler Reed, the current vice president for academic affairs, is a junior majoring in political science. Over the last year in office, Reed said he has enjoyed meeting a large number of students through the various responsibilities of his position.
“The vice president of academic affairs is charged with directing academic values, curriculum and advising,” Reed said. “This department is also to help students with advising concerns and Academic Integrity Week.”
