Steven Johnson joined Union Board as a freshman.
Now, as a senior about four months away from the end of his term as president of Union Board, Johnson said he hopes to build stronger relationships within the organization and live up to the legacy of the 107-year-old organization that creates programming for students across campus.
“It’s easy for boards to focus on their own year, but I want to think three years ago and five years ago, but also three years from now and five years from now,” Johnson said.
Union Board will have its callout meeting at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 1 in the Frangipani Room of the Indiana Memorial Union. Each year, Union Board has around 120 active members working in 13 different committees to create programming for all students on campus.
Elections to choose the executives that will serve in 2017 will occur in November, but anyone can join as a committee member now, provided they fill out an application.
Johnson said he hopes to work on mentoring within the board this semester to reduce high turnover from one board to the next. Though having new people every year allows for new ideas to emerge, the turnover also disrupts continuity, Johnson said.
“We like to see people work their way up or become really committed committee members,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he thinks of Union Board as the cultural nerve center of campus, as it brings diverse arts performances and speakers to IU. He joined as a freshman because of the organization’s wide variety of programming on topics from wellness to films to outdoor adventure activities.
“I think Union Board is all-encompassing,” Johnson said. “We want to be as representative as possible.”
In the past, Union Board brought big-name performers, like Wilco and the Roots, to campus. Posters for these bands are still up in Union Board’s office, and Johnson said he wants to get back to bringing such notable guests to campus, especially with a speaker spot open this semester.
Union Board’s budget has decreased in recent years, though, due to lack of spending transparency in the early and mid-2000s and the higher number of student organizations vying for funding.
Johnson said his board is preparing to make a case for an increase in funding, but the change would not take effect until next fall.
In the immediate future, Johnson said he is focusing on recruiting new talent, strengthening ties between board members and creating campus partnerships, so big-name guests might be more feasible.
“For 107 years, our mission has been to unite what could be fragmented groups,” Johnson said. “If we can make those relationships with each other, that’s the way we can make programming for campus that brings out different viewpoints.”
