Madelyn Herwig is a sophomore majoring in business and English. She is running for vice president of academic affairs in the 2026 SGA election.
Q: Why is it that you’re running for VP of Academic Affairs?
A: Growing up in Tuscaloosa, in a university town, having a professor as a parent, and then also now being involved in Culverhouse College of Business, Barefield College of Arts and Sciences Honors College, Blount Scholars Program, has really given me kind of this appreciation for education, and I’ve seen the impact that it can make on a community. And so in serving as Vice President of Academic Affairs, I would be able to support students in their academic journeys and help them in making their impact on the community around us.
Q: Why do you think you’re the best candidate for the position?
A: I think I’m the best candidate because I come in with two years of experience on SGA. I served on First Year Council. Last year, I ran and was elected to be a Culverhouse Senator, and then was elected to be the external affairs committee head. So I’ve had experience in all different areas of SGA, connecting with different students, administrators, also partners outside of SGA, which is important when you’re trying to support the student body and voice those concerns at the next level. And so having that as well as kind of an intimate disciplinary focus of my education will allow me to serve the student body best.
Q: What are your campaign’s key platforms?
A: So at its core, I want to focus on really bridging the gap between the student body and academic administration. So doing that through three key platform points, I focus on accessibility, student success and accountability.
Q: What two specific initiatives do you want to accomplish, and what time frames do you hope to accomplish them in?
A: The first initiative that is important to me, and I would like to focus on, is advocating for students that have off-campus academic placements, specifically those in the College of Education at the College of Nursing, who are having to find housing or transportation to places that are outside of Tuscaloosa, and figuring out a way to support the students through that process. A second initiative that I would like to focus on is in collaboration with the President’s mansion and the president’s office in starting a President’s list reception, and that really connects the student body with UA administrators and rewards student achievement.
Q: How do you plan to adapt if your initial plan for achieving these goals doesn’t go how you hope?
A: I think adaptation is something that’s super important in any leadership role that you take on. And so SGA has students from all across campus, and we do a really good job of connecting with one another. So if I get to serve in this position, I would go to other people in other branches or on council to find other ideas or find new outlets of achieving those same goals, but maybe in a different way, and getting different students’ inputs.
Q: How do you plan to make sure students are aware of internal and external academic opportunities?
A: I think that’s something that’s very important for the vice president of academic affairs is serving as this liaison to the academic administration, but also being there to inform the student body of what’s going on and what decisions are made at the administrative level that will affect their education. So serving as this liaison between both groups.
Q: What experiences have you had on campus that you believe will help you in the role if elected?
A: I touched on this a little bit earlier, but I think I’ve had a broad range of experience, both in SGA, First Year Council Senate, and now in the Blount Scholars Program, where I’m connecting with students and talking about a diverse array of ideas and being able to hear input from all across campus, people of all different majors and backgrounds, and hearing their stories and all of that kind of gives me, kind of the confidence moving forward, to feel that I can represent those different ideas and help help students in whatever their academic journey may be.
Q: How do you plan to improve the academic experience at the University?
A: I think overall, I touched on this in my platform points, but really focusing on making different
resources accessible to students, and the students are aware of the different opportunities that are available to them, really lowering those barriers to whether That’s through online testing, again, going to different academic placements, or just really celebrating students they accomplish on this campus, because at its core, we are here for an education, and in any way that I can voice concerns for those students, that’s important to me.
Q: What’s one last thing you want voters to know about you?
A: I think one last thing I want voters to know about me is that I come from a German-American background, and now I’m involved in all these different areas on campus. And so it’s really important to me that every individual story can be represented in academics at UA. And so I hope that if I get to serve as vice president for academic affairs, that I will get to be this voice for the student body, and so I hope that they’ll vote more with Madelyn from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on myBama next Tuesday.
