UVUSA candidates for Vice President of Academics and Student Activities
Reading Time: 2 minutes The positions of Vice President of Student Activities and Academic Senate have only one registered candidate each. Here’s a breakdown of both.
Ian Gotcher
“Every person has the right to a top-tier education.”
Ian Gotcher is a senior majoring in computer science. He states, in his introductory video, that one of his main goals for the length of his position is to increase the graduation rate of students. In the same video, he says, “UVU has the lowest graduation rate of any four-year college in Utah of only 41%.” Gotcher is planning to advocate for those with educational challenges by increasing the availability of online and hybrid courses for better flexibility and enhancing the Student Ratings of Instruction (SRIs) via mid-semester surveys and workload ratings.
Another aspect of Gotcher’s plan is to enhance courses with low success rates. He explains, “Courses like these are a barrier to UVU students and we need to find a way to fix them. Fortunately, UVU’s faculty are the best in the biz at finding ways to make the unteachable teachable. I will work with UVU’s leadership to find these courses and devise ways to make them easier in spite of the unfamiliar or complex material that students need to know to succeed in their education or career.”
Kyle Cullimore
“College is so much more than going to class, turning in assignments, and going home.”
Kyle Cullimore is a junior majoring in biology. His goals for Vice President of Student Activities include introducing more activities to cater to diverse student interests and demographics, ensuring everyone feels included. Cullimore also wishes to increase collaboration with overlooked groups and clubs on campus to help foster long-lasting connections and provide plenty of community involvement.
“As VP of Student Activities, I would create an incentive program that helps students socially buy into UVU by attending UVUSA events, sporting events, art performances, etc.” This incentive program is what Cullimore believes will help build a sense of pride for students of UVU. He also states that by involving more of the Utah County community, “We can create an environment here in Orem that’s special.” Cullimore wants to involve more of the community so that students can show that they want to be a force of good.
Cullimore encourages student input into events and traditions sharing that one of the major facts that he learned as a member of the activities branch is that only six to seven people were planning the events. To counter that, Cullimore wishes to enact an open-door policy to create a more student-centric approach to activity planning and execution.
For a more detailed breakdown of Kyle Cullimore and Ian Gotcher’s plans and qualifications, visit the UVUSA website. Voting opens March 4 and will run until March 7 at 5 p.m.
Wyatt joined the Review in 2023 as a Junior Reporter for News Team.
He’s a sophomore studying English to pursue a career in writing and publishing.