Last year, when Ross D’Entremont ran for vice president of academic affairs for the first time, the Editorial Board of the Crimson White described D’Entremont as, “more prepared to take office than any candidate we have ever interviewed for any position.” Though such a lofty description seemed almost too congratulatory to be true, this year’s Editorial Board can only emphatically repeat and reaffirm this statement as D’Entremont runs for reelection as VPAA.
The vice president of academic affairs serves a vital role in fulfilling the mission statement of the SGA, “students serving students,” by advocating for policies and programs that will help UA students succeed academically. Ross has a proven track record of doing so, as this past year as VPAA he has helped to expand Honors College course offerings, done significant amounts of research on advising policies and academic forgiveness, and worked with specific organizations to implement plans to help them improve their collective GPA.
In the coming year, D’Entremont hopes to continue his progress in changing advising policies and helping further academic forgiveness programs. Specifically, he hopes to make every 100/200 level class an A-B-C- No Credit class. Though such a policy will be difficult to implement, D’Entremont has worked tirelessly to discuss such a policy with faculty Senate, convincing this Editorial Board that the goal is actually feasible for someone with his connections and work ethic.
Another one of D’Entremont’s platform points that would take significant effort to turn into a reality is his plan to add a diversity requirement to the core curriculum. Much of our faculty and many students have expressed a desire for this addition to be made to the core curriculum in hopes of fostering a more inclusive, tolerant campus environment. However, the idea has also been met with considerable pushback at both University and state levels. While this Editorial Board would like to see the addition, we believe it would be difficult for anyone to accomplish in an academic year’s time span. If anyone can do it, though, it would be Ross D’Entremont, equipped with extensive research, intense commitment and sheer willpower.
This Editorial Board truly believes D’Entremont could succeed in any position within the SGA, and while we applaud his commitment to continuing his work in Academic Affairs, we wonder why he did not ascend the SGA ladder and run for higher office. This question aside, Ross will be a fantastic VPAA with a clear vision, specific, well-researched platform points, and a desire to better student life on all fronts.
