Displaying items by tag: Town Hall

Open communication was one of the main concerns students and alumni had last school year during the University of Akron's public challenges with budget cuts, layoffs and declining enrollment.

This year -- it's a fresh start with open dialogue between students and U of A's Interim President Mathew Wilson during a Town Hall meeting. 

"What I've noticed that has been different about [Wilson] in comparison to [former President Scott Scarborough] is he is talking to students," said UA senior Hayley Cargill. "I mean, he's giving out his personal phone number for people to text him. He really cares about the students and that's a big difference."

The university faced heavy criticism over the past year under the leadership of now-former President Scott Scarborough. In late May, the board of trustees and Scarborough reached a mutual agreement for Scarborough's resignation.

It came as no surprise that some of the questions at Wednesday afternoon's meeting were focused on the administration's transparency and open communication. Those were problems that were brought up under the leadership of Scarborough. But Wilson, who has been working as the interim president for eight weeks, was quick to say that he's focused on being a good "communicator."

Even some of Scarborough's toughest critics at the event said they feel hopeful about what's to come for the university.

"Just the way [Wilson] speaks is encouraging," said graduate student Thomas Guarino. "Talking about putting students first. I've heard that many times, repeated, over and over. That's very encouraging."

Cargill said she's hopeful about the new direction the university is headed and appreciates Wilson's focus of connecting with students on campus.

"I have yet to see what this year will hold, but I have a lot of hope that it'll be a lot better than last year. It already is." 

Wilson talked about the hours he has spent helping connect students with the proper resources, including an an email he received from a student who was faced with the possibility of being homeless. Wilson said he worked with the student to help find a solution to pay for housing.

The status on donations at the university was also brought up. Wilson said pledges are coming in -- and that a major donation is currently under consideration. He noted that the total is in the millions, but didn't release further details.