Incoming president meets students
Future joint president Brian Bruess and his wife Carol visited CSB/SJU on Tuesday, April 5, in Brother Willie's Pub. Bruess introduced himself, answered student questions and addressed any concerns.
CSB/SJU president-elect Brian Bruess said he intends to listen to student input when he takes office.
He recently made a step toward honoring that goal.
Bruess and his wife Carol hosted a meet-and-greet event open to all students on Tuesday, April 5, in Brother Willie’s Pub. Bruess—the first-ever joint president of CSB/SJU—got to know students and hear their perspectives at the student Senate-sponsored event.
“He is the first president of both universities, so the fact that he is willing to step out here and engage with students right away is a great sign—it points toward how he’s going to act as a president,” said Sam Rengo, a SJU junior who attended the event.
After the official announcement on March 14 that Bruess would take up the reins of both campuses, there was mixed feedback, with some students expressing fear for the CSB identity without a woman at the helm.
“I was hearing that [Bennies] were just kind of upset that the new president is a man… because we are not sure how that is going to represent us. I don’t want to be making assumptions about anyone, so I thought this [the meet-and-greet] is a good opportunity to see where he’s coming from,” said Maya Ricard, a CSB first-year.
The meet-and-greet with the Bruesses served as a space for students to hear the goals of Bruess in person.
For Rengo, this invigorated his hope for on-campus change.
“…he [Bruess] reaffirmed his commitment several times to systemic change, substantial change—not just performative activism,” Rengo said. “I think with that it incorporates listening to students and really cultivating a sense of student response or feedback within how he is going to pursue his policies.”
During his five-year tenure as president of St. Norbert College, Bruess worked to integrate diversity, equity, inclusion and justice into the academic curriculum. In a March 16 interview with The Record, Bruess said the DEIJ incorporation is a priority in the pursuit of systemic change, along with recruiting and retaining a diverse student body and faculty composition and listening to student experience in the culture.
The step of incorporating student feedback in his policies is underway, three months before Bruess officially takes office on July 1.
“[It’s] really important to give him [Bruess] an opportunity to get to know students and get to know what we want, what we need, from a president and what he can do for us,” said Julia Geller, a CSB junior.
