Welcome, new and returning Cardinals!

My name is Carrie Mattingly, and I am pleased to be serving you as SGA President for the 2013-2014 academic year. My job is to lobby for the student interest on campus issues big and small, from your tuition rate to the meal plan. I have had the pleasure of serving last year as Academic Vice President, and I have a number of ideas for an active and approachable SGA in the coming year.

One of the biggest challenges for SGA I’ve witnessed during my three years here is the challenge of reaching all students, including residents and non-residents, or graduates and undergraduates. In my executive staff, I have hired two directors. One is chiefly responsible for scheduling meetings for the SGA executive leadership, including myself, to attend. In other words, I will be attending a diverse group of RSOs’ meetings throughout the year to learn about their needs and interests. Students do not always respond when SGA tries to reach out through Facebook or email, so my administration will strive to reach them directly through RSO meetings and existing campus engagements.

As the costs of college continue to rise, I believe it is my responsibility to explore ways in which SGA can take small financial burdens off students. For example, I am looking into SGA’s ability to cover one replacement Cardinal Card for students during their time at UofL. Academically, it is my responsibility to advocate for policies that facilitate student graduation. For this reason, I will be working closely with the Academic Vice President to explore a centralized advising option that would greatly reduce advising stresses for students across units and majors.

Over the summer, I will be getting started with a committee to revise the SGA Student 2020 Plan. If you or someone you know is interested in serving on that committee, feel free to contact me. The current 2020 Plan can be viewed by visiting
www.UofLSGA.org.

I advise incoming students never to hesitate to contact SGA with pertinent student life or academic concerns. It is the pledge of my administration, including Executive Vice President Elizabeth Delaney, Academic Vice President Grant Ford, and Services Vice President Morgan Jenny, to do everything we can to serve you.

In Diligence,
Carrie Mattingly

Photo courtesy of louisville.edu