In this week’s Student Government Association (SGA) meeting, Director of Scholarships Ashley Crute gave a presentation on a new scholarship system that will be available to students starting Feb. 15.
According to Crute, there are currently over 350 foundation scholarships available at Longwood. The scholarships are funded by donors who give money to the university and that money is then put into a scholarship account.
Crute’s position as the Director of Scholarships is a new position, and her job is to ensure that all scholarships are given correctly and consistently. According to Crute, a new system has been built to make that process easier.
On Feb. 15, Crute’s website will launch and students will be able to find scholarships they are eligible for in an easy way.
Crute said the system will automatically match students’ Lancer IDs to the website and customize a list of scholarships according to the student’s information.
According to Crute, once students log in with their Longwood IDs, they will be immediately considered for the scholarships they qualify for without any need to go through an application process.
Crute said there possibly hundreds of scholarships that require a mild application process.
With the new scholarship system, students will also be able to know who donated the money and where the money came from, according to Crute.
Crute said that students will know all the information about the scholarships, allowing thank-you notes to the donors to be easier to write.
Crute said that in a few weeks, there will be the scholarship dinner where students will be allowed to have dinner with their donor.
The dinner allows for donors to be able to see where their money has gone and get to know the student who received the scholarship.
According to Crute, there will be a full-blown marketing campaign around campus called “Fund Your Future” to help make students aware of the launching of the website.
Students will have from Feb. 15 to March 15 to apply for scholarships.
Director of the University Center and Student Activities Susan Sullivan talked to SGA about the Citizen Leadership nominations and awards.
Students can nominate any student, faculty or staff member who is eligible for the awards on the student union website. Nominations opened on Feb. 5 and will be open until spring break in March.
Director of Citizen Leadership and Social Justice Education Jonathan Page talked briefly about the Social Justice in Action Leadership Summit that will take place on Feb. 17 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Lankford Student Union.
The leadership summit is an annual event meant to increase awareness on social issues and create more active citizen leaders.
The event provides a framework for campus leadership, community engagement and change activism, according to Page.
During open forum, Senator and Vice Treasurer Joseph Atkins talked about how there are a lot of complaints about how the Landings laundry equipment has been moved out of residents’ apartments.
According to Atkins, students are petitioning for the equipment to be moved back into the individual apartments.
President Kevin Napier said that the equipment was moved to resolve both cost and safety issues. Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Tim Pierson said that while conveniency is now an issue for students, it’s a lot safer due to two fires in the past.
Senator Taylor Hayes informed SGA that after a meeting with LUPD Chief Robert Beach, Executive Senator for Senate Relations Benjamin Brody and Virginia 21 Representative Rollins, parking ticket prices could potentially be dropped in half if resolved within 24 hours.
Hayes said that according to Beach, parking ticket prices are to create compliance with students to make sure they understand the parking regulations.
According to Hayes, they are in the process of working with LUPD to improve the regulations of parking tickets.
The next SGA meeting will be Feb. 13 at 3:50 p.m. in the Martinelli Board Room located in the Maugans Alumni Center.
Director of Citizen Leadership and Social Justice Education Jonathan Page spoke to the Student Government Association about the upcoming Social Justice in Action Leadership Summit on Feb. 17.
Director of Scholarships Ashley Crute talked to the Student Government Association about the new online platform that allows students to easily find scholarships that fit them.
