President Lamkin Prioritizes Open Communication with Students

President Lamkin made it clear from his first day in office that the President’s office would maintain open communication channels with the Westminster student body and be responsive to their needs. 

In that spirit, he and Mrs. Lamkin have set up weekly meetings with student leaders and representatives of the general student population to ensure they are attuned to the pulse of the campus and know what is on the mind of Westminster students. Once a week, they meet with SGA President Lydia Creech, a junior from Republic, Missouri, and SGA Vice President Barrett Houska, a sophomore from Arnold, Missouri. Every other week the two SGA officers bring a group of six students to the meeting with them who represent the general student population or who have identified specific concerns. 

“I am grateful for President Lamkin and his wife being willing to have weekly meetings with students and bi-weekly opportunities for larger groups of students to meet with them,” says Lydia Creech. “I hope that as we continue this, it becomes more popular with students. If there are students who would like to be part of these meetings, please reach out!”      

One of the major outcomes of these meetings so far has been hearing and addressing student concerns about the campus wireless system. As a result of student input, two technology town hall meetings were held February 20 and 21 with Scott Lowe, former Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Westminster, who is now working with the IT Department to fix these issues, and Matt Vore, Westminster Executive Director of Information Technology. A wireless survey has been sent out to the Westminster community to identify specific problems, and the IT Department will take action to address these issues. 

The IT Department also resolved some printer problems on campus that had been identified by students. 

Out of these discussions, the IT Department has committed to keeping students more thoroughly informed through emails and the student announcement board located on MyWC. 

A second issue that has been addressed through these student discussions is a proposal that was floated to require students living in the Groves Townhouses and Westminster Apartments to purchase a meal plan. The rationale behind the idea was that it would ensure students were eating healthy, balanced meals; make these students feel more a part of the student body community experience; and increase the dining population to a level where a full-time chef is necessary.

After listening to student concerns, President Lamkin has rejected this new meal plan proposal. 

 “I enjoy my interactions with students,” says President Lamkin. “The feedback and ideas they provide in these sessions give me important information on how we can create an even better environment for our students at Westminster College.”