Since his election to the 2011-12 Residence Halls Association presidency in February, Chris Rucker and RHA President Lauren Thomas have worked to make the role’s transition a smooth one.
“Already, me and Vice-President-Elect Caleb (Krenning) are in constant meetings, and Lauren and I still meet on a regular basis to talk about the future of the organization, things she would have done differently and things she would like to see accomplished,” Rucker said.
Rucker said he feels that it is necessary for the executive board to be close-knit, and it is important they know their roles so that they can get representatives involved.
“It is important that representatives know what our organization is about, and the executive members can also help them write legislation,” Rucker said.
Krenning said it is disheartening to find out there are many returning students to the residence halls who do not get involved with RHA.
Rucker said they have talked about cutting some positions on the executive board, but nothing is official. For now, they are primarily concerned with getting the new executive board in place.
“We just finished all of our interviews and are deciding on our executive board soon, but it will not be announced until over spring break, because people have applied for student staff and we want to make sure that everything is settled before we make the announcement,” Rucker said.
Krenning also said he and Rucker have been talking about the services they would like to offer students moving in this fall.
“We are getting ready to sign the same linen contract that we had last year, so new residents will be sent a packet this summer with linen options, like sheets and towels and things of that nature,” Rucker said.
Rucker and Thomas hope to ensure a smoother transition of leadership than in past years by hosting a retreat.
“To ensure that the transition among the executive board goes better than it has in the past, we are having a transitional retreat the weekend after we get back from spring break,” Thomas said. “All of the current executive board members and those who Chris and Caleb hire will be attending.”
Rucker said the funding for the retreat is not going to be paid for by student fees.
Rucker said the retreat is meant to give new executive members training from their predecessor on the duties of their new position. They will be talking with their predecessors and will also be discussing events for summer.
“We hope to talk about what we can do for at Summer Welcome to promote our organization as well,” Rucker said.
Thomas said they want to make the leadership transition smoother than it has been in the past, even though Rucker and Krenning will not be sworn in until the end of this academic year.
“At the last Congress meeting (of the year), Chris and Caleb will be sworn in and Chris will technically take over in May,” Thomas said.