The award, created by members of the Kennedy family in 1989, recognizes public officials at all levels of government whose actions demonstrate the qualities of politically courageous leadership in the spirit of “,鈥� President John F. Kennedy鈥檚 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book.

Adams, a 1998 graduate of University of Louisville’s , was presented the award by听Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, on June 9 at the听听in Boston, Massachusetts.

According to the library, Adams听was presented with the award for 鈥渆xpanding voting rights and standing up for free and fair elections despite party opposition and death threats.鈥�

鈥淎s our nation heads to the polls this November to choose the next President of the United States, courageous secretaries of state like Michael Adams are on the front lines protecting access to the ballot and ensuring that our nation remains a beacon of democracy,鈥� Caroline Kennedy, Honorary President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, said in a听.

鈥淧resident Kennedy鈥檚 admonition to put country before self still resonates today, and rings true now more than ever,鈥� said Adams. 鈥淚 am honored to accept this award on behalf of election officials and poll workers across America who, inspired by his call, sacrifice to keep the American experiment in self-government alive.鈥�

Past winners of the award include former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama, Gerald Ford, and George H.W. Bush, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and U.S. Senator John McCain.

Smith will maintain his position after winning the three-candidate election, the major action item on the agenda. The 32-year veteran, including eight as a senator, is UofL鈥檚 assistant director of Intramural and Recreational Sports. He was first elected in June 2018.

Andrew Grubb, a senior academic coordinator in the University Honors Program, unseated Marian Vasser for the vice chair position.

Grubb graduated from UofL with his bachelor鈥檚 degree in 2005 and his master鈥檚 in 2007. He returned to Louisville from Connecticut in 2010 in a temporary role before he was hired permanently in May 2011. During his time at UConn, he first experienced the administrative side of higher education when he was voted president of the graduate student senate.

鈥淲hat I鈥檓 hoping for in fulfilling my duties as vice chair is to highlight the contributions of staff on campus, raise the profile of staff, a distinctive class of human who do invaluable things here to make the university work,鈥� Grubb added.

Rhonda Gilliland held on to her role as the secretary-treasurer in a two-person race.

Each candidate had five minutes to share his or her campaign. Once the group for that position finished their presentations, senators were given time to ask questions about their stances on key issues.

In between secretary-treasurer race, director of gift administration and training for advancement, Judy Singleton, presented an update on Quasi Endowment. She mentioned during her time on the floor that the University foundation is putting out a request for proposal for an investment group, as the current unit has gone unchanged for the last 18 years.

Todd Kneale, director of total rewards in human resources, shared an update on health benefits. He is part of a group of consultants across campus focused on building a four-year strategy for health benefits, restricted to medical and prescription drugs. He said the group is benchmarking not only other institutions but also competing organizations.

The meeting wrapped up with senators sharing updates from their various units.

Smith started his report by informing senators that the strip mall, across from Cardinal Towne that previously housed Gray鈥檚 Bookstore, has been sold to a developer. The University is in talks with the new owner, who is proposing to build a more than 400-bed student-housing facility on the south side of that property. The developer is aiming to put a major retailer on the north side of the space. Smith said there is no proposed timeline at the moment.

Smith also informed the senators that an RFP is on the market for a craft beer partner, and the beverage would be sold in areas that have high concentrations of UofL alumni.

Following a notice that was sent out previously, Smith reminded those in attendance that Canon agreed to buy out the remaining leases on Xerox equipment and that more than 200 new Canon machines will be delivered to campus in the near future.

.

Jasper Noble, a junior who is double majoring in political science and history, is the new SGA president. Kayla Payne has been elected executive vice president, Sabrina Collins is academic vice president and Lydia Burns is the new services vice president.

Noble spoke with UofLNews about his plans for the future of SGA, and the role SGA plays in advocating for students as the university develops a new strategic plan.

UofLNews: How long have you been involved in SGA and what has that role entailed?

Noble: I got involved in SGA as soon as I possibly could. I was involved with Task Force Freshman as a freshman. I was the mentee of the chief of staff at that point. My sophomore year I ran for senate and served on the Arts and Sciences Appropriations Committee. That was a really interesting process just to see how the legislative process works here. During my sophomore and into my junior year I ran for academic vice president and did not win. Then I was appointed the deputy chief of staff where I am currently working under President [Jonathan] Fuller.

UofLNews:听What made you pursue this leadership role in the organization?听

Noble: Well, I鈥檝e been a part of it for so long 鈥� over three years 鈥� and I have come up with things that I want to do. I have a vision for what SGA could be, a vision that I think a lot of people share. I think that it鈥檚 something I have kind of always wanted to have in SGA as a leadership role but I wasn鈥檛 sure what that would be back then. This year, I felt I was ready for this听鈥� to do a good job and be a good leader for students on campus.

UofLNews: What are your biggest goals as SGA president?

Noble: I want to open up more channels of communication. I know that a lot of people feel like SGA isn鈥檛 listening to them and even more people don鈥檛 even know what SGA does. So why would you reach out to them if you don鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e doing? So, awareness is important to what we鈥檙e doing. With that, comes transparency. I will sit on the Board of Trustees. I think that it鈥檚 important as students that we understand what this highest governing body is. I want to be that voice saying 鈥淗ere鈥檚 what鈥檚 going on at the very highest level.鈥� I want to look at things like affordability, safety and mental health awareness. I want to do everything I can to make sure that we address student needs.

UofLNews: What do you think will be your biggest challenges serving in this role?

狈辞产濒别:听I just know that it鈥檚 difficult. I worked with Jonathan and I was [former SGA President] Vishnu鈥檚 roommate before that, so I鈥檝e been close to this role for some time. I know that it鈥檚 tough to balance things that students want and what is beneficial for the university as a whole. I鈥檓 absolutely committed to making sure that when students have needs, and when things aren鈥檛 being paid attention to, we start paying attention. On the other side of that coin, there is an entire university to maintain. We鈥檙e coming out of this transitional period where things haven鈥檛 been so good on a national stage and now they鈥檙e getting better. So I also want to make sure we are focusing on where our priorities are and continuing that until we reach a point where we can address all of these individual issues.

UofLNews: You will be serving during the university鈥檚 strategic planning initiative, do you have any thoughts or goals for what you will seek to accomplish?

狈辞产濒别:听I鈥檝e been lucky enough to serve on the teaching and enrollment strategic planning committee. I think we鈥檙e coming up with some really good plans on how to bring more people to UofL to add to the size of this community. With more people comes more success. There鈥檚 more breadth of experience for students to draw from. We鈥檙e looking at new markets to engage with and new ways to bring students in the local area who aren鈥檛 necessarily looking at UofL. We can show them all of the incredible opportunities that UofL has to offer.

UofLNews: How would you describe your leadership style?

狈辞产濒别:听I like to describe it as an open-door style. I鈥檓 confident in my ability to make decisions, but I鈥檓 only confident in my ability to make decisions if the people around me are there to offer criticism. I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any use in surrounding yourself with those who only agree with you. So I think the more people that critique the decision that I want to make and the more people that provide me with anecdotes and their experiences to contradict my understanding of something, that鈥檚 what going to shape better policy and better decision making.

UofLNews: When your time as president comes to an end, what do you hope your legacy will be?

狈辞产濒别:听I hope that there is a much larger increase of students who are aware of what SGA can do for them. I think that, at its core, student government is a tool and the fact that not enough students are utilizing that tool makes it that much more important that we make ourselves present and make ourselves known.

UofLNews: Why did you choose to attend the University of Louisville?

狈辞产濒别:听In high school I was always thinking, 鈥淚鈥檒l never go to a state school because I want to see places outside of Kentucky.鈥� But then I applied to UofL for the crazy good scholarship bonuses we have. I was lucky enough to become a McConnell Scholar, so the level of opportunity that I was able to get here was something that I didn鈥檛 see anywhere else in the country. I also would get to be close to home to see my family every single month. It just worked out that the opportunities aligned perfectly with what I wanted to do.

UofLNews: What鈥檚 your favorite thing about UofL?

狈辞产濒别:听The people that I鈥檝e met here. A lot of them have similar upbringings as me and then so many more of them are so different. I didn鈥檛 know there was this microcosm community at UofL. I grew up in Cincinnati, and it鈥檚 just totally a different urban and suburban culture. I just love the people I鈥檝e met here, not only on campus but in the city, too. I think it鈥檚 a fun, vibrant place to be and I鈥檝e really enjoyed it.

Joining Noble on the Executive Cabinet are:

Kayla Payne 鈥� executive vice president:听A sophomore political science major, Payne will focus on forming a student diversity coalition and continuing the effort to create an atmosphere of inclusivity for minority groups on campus.

Sabrina Collins 鈥� academic vice president:听Collins is a sophomore political science major with a double minor in mathematics and women and gender studies. Collins鈥� period in office will include a focus on improving academic equity among all student groups and ensuring that every student will have the opportunity to succeed.

Lydia Burns 鈥� services vice president:听A junior political science and mathematics double major, Burns will work to create a greener campus that is affordable and accessible to all students.

.

Armstrong provided comments on why he wants to continue in the chair role for another year, touting UofL鈥檚 staff for 鈥渄oing it all鈥� and promising to continue advocating and 鈥渇ighting the good fight.鈥� One of his focuses for next year will be finding true professional development opportunities.

In the past year as vice chair, Tencer said she has learned how important it is to advocate for staff, noting that this effort is even more important in tumultuous times.

Nominations were closed for secretary/treasurer, with Sabrina Haug and Wendy Metcalf both presenting comments on why they would make ideal candidates. Haug, current secretary/treasurer, has been on the Staff Senate since 2014 and has served on a number of committees. Metcalf has been on the Staff Senate since 2009 and has also served on many committees. Both candidates promised to strengthen the Staff Senate and help their fellow employees.

Elections will be held at the June meeting.

Standing reports

Policy, Economics and Development Committee: The PED committee met in April and provided a new recommendation for UofL鈥檚 RIF policy to HR. Members are awaiting any modifications on those recommendations. The recommendation included more concrete language surrounding the hiring of internal employees versus external candidates. The committee has also been benchmarking other ACC schools on how they roll internal preference hires into their policies.

Staff Grievance Committee: Two staff grievances were filed in the past month. The results cannot be shared yet, but the committee said they can stand behind the recommendations that were made and that the processes were done with high integrity.

SHARE: No applications were submitted for SHARE in the past month. The EVPRI office has offered to host a fundraiser sometime this month for SHARE.

Staff Morale and Community Outreach: The committee has compiled staff morale suggestions from past meetings and will submit a list of cost-free ideas to HR. The committee issued a survey about communication opportunities and will create a newsfeed on the Staff Senate website and continue to share post-meeting reports to constituents.

Treasurer鈥檚 report: The Staff Senate鈥檚 budget will not be cut in the current budget process. The general fund is currently $5,264.21. The balance is $14,225, and the tech fund is currently $1,674.

Faculty Senate report: Dr. Bob Staat provided an update from the Faculty Senate meeting last week, including elections 鈥� Enid Trucios-Haynes will continue as chair this year, while Krista Wallace-Boaz, will continue as vice chair. Staat said he will be going into a phased retirement and the new Faculty Senate representative is Avery Kolers, from the Department of Philosophy.

Interim provost Dale Billingsley and interim president Greg Postel both provided updates to the Faculty Senate. Billingsley said dean searches continue. Colin Crawford has been named the new dean of the Brandeis School of Law, pending board approval, and will begin Jan. 1. Law professor Lars Smith will fill the role in the interim. A new search for the Speed School dean will begin in the fall with 鈥渁n aggressive timeline.鈥� Gail DePuy will take on the acting dean role in the interim. Finally, the School of Nursing dean search will begin in the fall.

From the enrollment front, applications and admissions are up 11 percent compared to last year. Students, surveys have shown, are not deterred by the SACS accreditation status. Underrepresented minority student numbers and mentored scholarship numbers are both strong at this point.

Postel provided an update from the latest CPE meeting in Frankfort, including the growing recognition of deferred maintenance on state campuses across Kentucky, estimated to be around $8 billion. Another point was brought up about the state鈥檚 budget, which was about $113 million behind what was anticipated for Q3, or just over 1 percent, for the general funds budget. Things could change for Q4 to get the budget back in line. However, if that doesn鈥檛 happen, the governor has the ability to use about 25 percent of the rainy day fund to heal the general funds shortfall. This would still leave a deficit of about $60 million, which could potentially threaten the higher education budget. Postel said they will be watching this closely and will know more in the next few weeks.

More information about the Faculty Senate meeting is .听

Armstrong鈥檚 Chair鈥檚 Report is also .听He noted that the Budget Development Committee is reconsidering is purpose. It was originally formed to help with the development of the FY18 budget, but now it is focused on being strategic.

鈥淲e will be looking at budgets continuously so we鈥檙e better stewards of our funds,鈥� he said, adding that it is a culture change.

Haug provided the Strategic Plans and Bylaws ad hoc committee report. Members have come up with a new mission statement and will submit it to the executive committee before presenting it to the entire Staff Senate in June.

Tencer provided an update on the Presidential Qualities ad hoc committee, which issues a survey asking employees to provide their input. The survey generated more than 250 responses. Employees generally are looking for a candidate with integrity, honesty and an ability to communicate transparently. The committee will put a list together based on those survey results for the next meeting.

The HR Advisory Committee met to discuss ideas on where/how to cut costs, including a potential smokers surcharge and other ideas.

The Staff Senate will next meet for its regular monthly meeting on June 12, in the Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library, Belknap Campus, at 2:30 p.m. Officer elections will be conducted.

听