Q. What is going to be happening at the Student Town Hall meeting?

A. One of the things I look forward to every semester, every year, is my opportunity to interact directly with students on the issues that are of concern to them. So I’m there to listen. I’m there to listen to students concerns, the opportunities they might be having, but I want to make sure there’s a very clear line of communication from the students to me as the chancellor.

Q. How often does the Student Town Hall meeting occur?

A. I’ve done one every year. There were some years that I needed to do one per semester. It really just depends on what the students want. The Oshkosh Student Association is the one who approached me and said “We would like you to do this,” and I’m happy to accommodate, of course.

Q. How many students typically show up?

A. Sometimes it’s been a packed house; for instance, we were in the third-floor theater in Reeve, and I had every seat filled. And other times, fewer. It just really depends on what’s on people’s minds at the time. For the most part, I think it’s pretty good attendance, though.

Q. Why should students attend this?

A. I think students should attend this so they can be a part of our never-ending efforts to create a better University. Unless we have student input to that, I truly don’t know how the students think. This is my opportunity to listen and to understand how students are experiencing the University.

Q. Will there be anyone else answering students’ questions at the Student Town Hall?

A. Typically, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Dr. Cheryl Green, [would] be there for this. And of course in [Green’s] role, she’s really there to support students. So it makes all the sense in the world for us to answer questions together.

Q. Is there anything else you’d like students to know about the Town Hall?

A. I hope they come. We need to be bursting at the seams. It’s important for me as the chancellor to know and understand how they’re experiencing the University. And you can’t address issues that you don’t know about, so that’s one of the good reasons why we’re doing this.