Lecture Series Article

Greg Robinson — 2010-11-03 10:02:00 -0500

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s Student Government Association hosted a lecture series on October 21, 2010.

The theme for the event was “Empowering the Next Generation of Leaders”. The guest speaker was writer and activist, Kevin Powell.

Powell explained to the audience the definition of a leader. He stated that a leader has to change the way he or she speaks about certain things. Leaders have to claim what they want to be in life. People striving to be in the lead must talk about relevant issues and events. Leaders also must build and sustain institutions that give back to their communities. In doing those tasks, leaders have to also be evident and available to the people in their communities.

After he enlightened the audience about the definition, Powell shared six steps to being an effective leader.

The first step was to have a spiritual foundation. A leader must be honest and understand that mistakes are made, but make sure they are not continuing to make the same mistake. Secondly, an effective leader must develop political awareness. This involves reading on a constant basis. Starting a plan for economic empowerment was the third step to becoming an effective leader. “You can’t be a leader if you work for someone your whole life and pay rent for your whole life,” Powell stated. Powell’s fourth step was to manifest your cultural swagger. Effective leaders have to stop using words that demean people. The fifth and sixth steps in the plan involved the idea of wellness. Leaders must take care of their physical health and move toward mental wellness. It is important to know family health history and deal with issues that could affect mental stability.

Following the speech given by Mr. Powell, a panel discussion began. Members from the community were given the opportunity to elaborate on topics that were affecting the community of Pine Bluff and the campus of UAPB.

By: Marian Smith (SGA Department of Public Relations)

SGA meets with Financial Aid

Greg Robinson — 2010-08-28 15:29:00 -0500

University Of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

SGA Department Of Public Relations

On Friday, August 27th, SGA executive officers met with Student Affairs and Financial Services to discuss issues with the Financial Aid process. SGA Vice President Kent J Broughton teamed with Chief of Staff Courtney Williams, and Director of Public Relations Greg Robinson to address student concerns with the Coordinator of Student Affairs, Mr. Elbert Bennett. After discussing numerous issues such as long lines, a lack of communication, and disorder, Mr. Bennett set up a meeting with the Director of Financial Services Ms. Smith so that the SGA could offer both short and long term solutions. The SGA was assured that Financial Aid would look into short term solutions like a PA system to better communicate with the masses of students in the halls; an orderly process of "number taking"; and a more informative voicemail service. In the long term, both the SGA and Financial Aid are looking forward to an ongoing partnership to facilitate communication with the students. The SGA will be dedicated to educating students on the importance of finishing the Financial Aid process in a timely manner.

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Lecture Series Article

SGA meets with Financial Aid