The Online Reflector

The first “Pizza with the Prez” event was held Oct. 2 in Cravens Hall. This event gives students an opportunity to talk to the University of Indianapolis president in a more personal space.

“We have done this [event] before. It’s just a way for the president to get to meet with residents in a more intimate setting,” said Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Kory Vitangeli. “So instead of doing one big program, [we are] doing them in each building, which allows for smaller crowds and for students to really interact with the president on a more personal basis.”

The event began around 8:30 p.m. after the residents had time to eat. The lobby of Cravens was filled with students, and the furniture was rearranged to give the personal setting that Residence Life intended. First year resident assistant and sophomore Olivia Lengacher was excited to see how her residents interacted with the president and each other.

“It’s a good experience to get around all of your residents and see how they interact with university figures,” Lengacher said. “You kind of get to know them more because of the questions they ask and their concerns.”

UIndy President Robert Manuel began the discussion by telling those assembled his goals for the evening. He said he wanted to have a chat to find out how they are experiencing UIndy and discuss ways to make it better.

Manuel used jokes and short stories about his daughters to break the ice with the residents. He said that he enjoyed the urban surroundings of the university but also the smaller atmosphere of the campus. Manuel believes that this smaller atmosphere will help him get to know the people at UIndy better than in some of his previous positions at other universities.

“I became an administrator at NYU, and I was doing mostly meetings, talking about financial aid policies. That’s not why I got into higher education in the first place,” Manuel said. “When I went to Georgetown, it was a smaller community, but I worked with the adults, which was kind of on the outside of the traditional population.”

Manuel also said he would like the opportunity to teach a class again. The proposed class would look at problems, craft solutions and then implement those solutions. This class would tie into some of Manuel’s goals for helping to improve the campus community. Manuel said that he wants to build an environment that goes beyond night classes and gives students more reasons to stay on campus during the weekend.

During the event, Manuel challenged the Cravens residents to think about why they go home on weekends or why they were not exploring the campus as much as they could. Residents were given opportunities to throw out ideas for possible new spaces. Manuel said that he wants to hear from students and form his ideas around what students want on campus. He believes that this strategy is effective for making lasting improvements.

“Some people’s strategy as president is to come and say, ‘This is what you need. This is my vision for the institution.’ My strategy is to come and say, ‘Here’s a process and a group of experiences that we go through,’ and out of that will come our vision, not my vision,” he said.

Along with questions about improvements, Manuel also asked residents how they believed their courses were going and listened to the difficulties that some residents were having. He asked questions about study spaces and listened to suggestions about making buildings such as Schwitzer Student Center and Krannert Memorial Library more accessible to all students.

Manuel also encouraged the residents to link to him on Twitter and his other social media outlets. He said these interactions give him a unique look at what is happening on campus.

“I get to listen in ways that you can’t without Twitter or Facebook. I get to hear the good, the bad and the ugly about UIndy,” Manuel said. “I get to use that in my thinking and decision making about how we [at UIndy] move forward.”

Freshman pre-physical therapy major Kaelee Kuhn asked Manuel about the lack of Greek life on campus, because of her friends’  involvement at other colleges and universities. Manuel said that UIndy has a tight community and Greek life can bring unwanted cliques and tensions. He said that the Greek life is socially positive, but he would consider other alternatives  first.

“The first question is what do you really want,” Manuel said. “If that’s sororities and fraternities, we’ll have that conversation.”

Kuhn said that Manuel effectively and knowledgeably answered her questions.

Freshman music recording technology major Sigi Ferguson guides campus tours for prospective students. She said the event helped her know what to tell them.

“I talk about the president a lot, so to actually get to know him and to be able to back up my information that I do give to potential students was a pretty big influence [on why I came],”  Ferguson said.

The next “Pizza with the Prez” events will be in Warren Hall on Oct. 11 and East Hall on Oct. 24.