5 Questions With...

Jon Graf

President, TU Student Government Association

Q: How do you engage Towson students on issues affecting campus and student life?
A: The SGA seeks to provide a venue for students to communicate their concerns and to see the impact of their voice. We seek out the opinions of students through conversations, active surveying, and maintaining our online resources. Our newly refreshed website has helped us provide students with the resources they need to stay informed. This year we have also implemented a culture of surveying the student body and been so successful that students are requesting surveys from us. I personally always take the time to sit down and listen to students about what they think and how they feel about our campus and encourage all members of the SGA to do the same.

Q: What are the biggest issues that have faced the SGA this year?

A: Particular to Towson's campus, diversity and race issues have come to the forefront. Towson going smoke free is no small item either and we continue to work with the University on both fronts. The SGA has also taken a very active role in academic issues on the campus with the largest effort surrounding academic advising. On a system level the proposed film policy, a freedom of expression based issue, drew significant attention. In these difficult economic times budget cuts and their effect on students are another ongoing issue.

Q: What impact do you hope to have on campus with your presidency?

A: Broadly I want every student at Towson to have a positive experience. Internally to the SGA I hope to establish operations that not only help the SGA to be successful this year, but also for years to come. I hope that the refreshed SGA website and established culture of surveying the student body will be signature pieces of the SGA. Externally, I hope to continue to develop the solid working relationship with the Administration as we tackle the challenges together and I'd also like to make some visible changes to the campus to help make it feel more like Tigertown.

Q: How do you balance student life with your role in the SGA?

A: First and foremost I keep my priorities clear and maintain my academic focus. I maintain a well organized schedule and have been very careful to limit the commitments I make in order to manage my time effectively. Having a great group of friends both inside and outside of SGA definitely helps to maintain the balance. Overall, being a student is fun and it's easy to have fun when you enjoy what you do and I really do enjoy representing my fellow students as SGA President.

Q: Why is it important to you to be involved in campus leadership, and how do you plan to stay involved after graduation?
A: It's important to me to be involved in campus leadership so that the student voice is heard. The broader and significantly more difficult piece is that I want students to know that their voice is being heard. I do this to be able to empower our students. It's important to me to see other students as involved with and as passionate about Towson University as I am. Towson is an incredible place and I hope that everyone who is part of the university community has the chance to realize that. After graduation I will continue to be involved with the Alumni Association and will continue to be there for the SGA if they ever want some advice from a former president. Go Tigers!

Culminating the 2010 Plan

With a commitment to strengthen linkages to the external community, Towson University has expanded and enhanced community relations efforts with new initiatives, revamped publications, and a new website. In October 2009, Towson's Community Relations and News website launched to keep communities near campus informed on the latest news and information including the campus construction updates, upcoming events, and community relations efforts. The site features new initiatives such as the new Community Ambassador Program, which is being piloted in Towson Manor Village. The ambassador program consists of a TU student employee, not unlike a campus Resident Assistant, who already resides in the community and works with other TU students living off-campus to help them understand expectations for living in the community. Also featured on the web, the new  Local Address Policy debuted in Fall 2009 and requires all registered students to give the University both an accurate local address in addition to their permanent address and is designed to assist TU in locating students in case of emergency and to conduct university business. Finally the Connect TU newsletter, doubled in size changing its format to include 4 pages of community-related news and is circulated to a 2-mile radius of campus.

2010 Plan | Report Card | Guiding Principles

New in the News

Read up on the latest higher education issues that have appeared in the news recently:

• TU honored for 'exemplary service' to U.S. communities-- TU Newsroom
• TU research expo to highlight the best of student scholarship-- TU Newsroom
• Donald Trump endorses Associate-- The Towerlight
• Governor Shocks GOP By Liking Proposals-- WBALTV.com
• Legislature left with big issues still unresolved-- The Gazette
• Tuition hike around 3% likely if freeze ends, O'Malley says-- The Herald-Mail

Legislative Bills

The following bills have been introduced to the legislature recently:

• HB 1369 Task Force to Study Standardizing and Accountability of Introductory Courses in Higher Education in Maryland. Assigned to House Ways and Means and Appropriations. 
• SB 467 / HB 59 Task Force to Incorporate the Principles of Universal Design for Learning into the Policies, Practices, and Curriculum of the Education Systems in Maryland. Assigned to Senate EHEA and House Ways & Means.
• SB 829 Teachers' Retirement and Pension Systems - Reemployment of Retirees - Retired Higher Education Faculty. Assigned to Budget and Taxation.
• SB 503 Higher Education - Sergey Brin Scholarship Program. Assigned to Senate EHEA. Hearing 3/10 at 1:00 pm.
• HB 764 / SB 264 Financial Literacy Curriculum - Graduation Requirement.  Assigned to House Ways and Means and Senate EHEA (hearing 3/10 at 1:00 pm.)
• SB 639 Higher Education - Death of Police Officer or Firefighter - Edward T. Conroy Memorial Scholarship Program. Assigned to Senate EHEA. Hearing 3/10 at 1:00 pm.
• SB 705 Maryland Football Act. Assigned to Senate EHEA. Hearing 3/10 at 1:00 pm. 
• SB 708 Maryland Higher Education Business Coalition and Fund. Assigned to Senate EHEA. Hearing 3/10 at 1:00 pm. 
• HB 1370 Public-Private Partnerships - Oversight. Assigned to House Appropriations and Ways & Means.  Hearing 3/11 at 1:00 pm.
• SB 191 Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones. Assigned to Senate Judicial Proceedings.  Hearing 3/11 at 1:00 pm. 
• HB 1040 High Performance Buildings Act - Applicability to Recipients of State Aid.  Assigned to Health and Government Operations and Appropriations.  Hearing 3/11 at 1:00 pm.
• HB 853 Personal Financial Literacy State Curriculum. Assigned to House Ways and Means.  Hearing 3/17 at 1:00 pm.
• HB 1102 Bookstores Purchasing Used Textbooks - Required Records.  Assigned to House Economic Matters.  Hearing 3/17 at 1:00 pm.
• HB 1301 Access to Public Records - Electronic Documents. Assigned to House Health and Government Operations. Hearing 3/17 at 1:00 pm.
• SB 604 College and Career Readiness Act of 2010.  Assigned to Senate EHEA.  Hearing 3/17 at 1:00 pm. 

For more bill information, please click here.