Perry Yeats is a second-year political science major
The average UCI student has no idea what the Office of Academic Affairs does. Explain what you do as if you were explaining it to someone from another planet.
Like other offices in ASUCI, Academic Affairs hosts a number of programs for undergraduates, except that our programs have an academic theme.
I learned how the office ran due to my experience in Academic Affairs this year.
As the administrative intern for the Office of Academic Affairs my duties were to compile weekly reports from all the commissioners of each program and then report to the Vice President on what each commissioner was doing and how each program was being run.
I gained intricate knowledge of how the office worked through this position and as the student representative on the Council on Educational Policy in the Academic Senate, I learned the administrative aspects as well.
I am also dedicated to diversity at UCI. As the Student Initiated Academic Preparation intern in the office, I learned the challenges that diversity at the UC is facing, and I helped clubs and organizations working toward diversity at UCI organize to be better able to recruit future Anteaters.
Through these experiences I have come to the conclusion that Academic Affairs has many ambitions, but has spread itself too thin this year.
I will focus attention on key programs like Speakers and Debates, which brings in popular academic speakers to our campus, and the Academic Senate.
By focusing on our core services and programs, I will establish a strong foundation that will last for years to come. In doing this, we can have more money to produce events and programs that appeal to more students.
I will strengthen the Academic Senate by introducing an agenda that will address academic policy issues most pertinent to undergraduates and to insure that the student voice is heard during academic policy formation.
Also, the Speakers and Debates program will become a joint effort throughout ASUCI and other campus entities so we can recruit bigger name speakers that entertain as well as educate. You can hold me to it: I hope to bring Bill Nye the Science Guy to come speak at UCI. My ultimate goal is to strengthen the programs in academic affairs so that we can better serve the entire undergraduate student body.
Tell us one unique thing about yourself that differs you from other candidates.
I have already served the student’s interests in making sure there was a voice to represent undergraduates as a representative on the Council on Educational Policy in the Academic Senate.
I helped pass U-Teach and I helped approve the Business major that is soon to come.
I want to extend that voice to represent the whole campus in all areas of academic policy by being Vice President and serving you.
