Assembly

The Assembly of Student Representatives is one of the three primary branches of the University Park Undergraduate Association. The Assembly comprises elected representatives from across campus who work through UPUA’s committee system to legislate on behalf of the student body, providing leadership alongside the Student Body President and UPUA Executive.

Mark Cannon – Chairman of the Assembly
mark12741@gmail.com

Mark Cannon is a junior majoring in finance and economics and is a student in the Schreyer Honors College. He hails from the city of Scranton in the northeast part of Pennsylvania (the home of The Office). Upon graduation, he hopes to enter the financial industry, and eventually, earn his MBA or JD. Mark lives on campus at Penn State, and he is very involved with Honors College Orientation and various on campus programs. It was through this programming that he became interested in student government and was voted into UPUA by ARHS in the Fall ‘08 semester.

While in UPUA, Mark worked with the Residential Hall Room Reservation Fee and sat on the Facilities Fee Board. He helped to organize the 4th Assembly Representatives and finalize the UPUA-SOCC merger agreement to create the UPUA Board of Arbitration. Mark is an on campus representative and an active liaison to the Association of Residence Hall Students. As Assembly Chairman, he plans to work towards greater cooperation amongst all student groups for the betterment of all Penn State students. Mark believes that UPUA should reach out to all Penn State students and the surrounding community.

Sam Loewner – Academic Affairs Committee Chair
sml5168@psu.edu

The Academic Affairs Committee is led by Sam Loewner (Senior – Political Science). The committee works to represent students to University offices dealing with Undergraduate Education like the University Registrar, the University Advising Council, the individual academic colleges, and the University Faculty Senate. We work to resolve students’ classroom problems as they are reported to us, and we continually monitor the academic programs and opportunities that Penn State has in order to improve education and student experience. Sam spent a year in UPUA as a Vice-chair for Facilities Committee and previously represented the students in the College of the Liberal Arts to the University Faculty Senate, where he chaired the student senator caucus.

Christian Ragland – Student Life and Diversity
cdr5063@psu.edu

My name is Christian Dupree Ragland and I am the Chairman of the Student Life and Diversity Committee for the University Park Undergraduate Association. As a committee, it is our goal to reach out to those student organizations that we can assist and support in the areas of Student Life and Diversity. As the Chairman of the committee, my goal is to lead the committee with a mindset of outreach and transparency. We have many great people in our committee and we do not expect anything less than excellence for this year. My other involvement on campus is the Commission on Racial, Ethnic, and Diversity (CORED), the University Park Allocation Committee (UPAC), and the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commemoration Committee. All of our committee meetings are open to everybody and we always look forward to hearing your ideas.

Colleen Smith – Governmental Affairs Committee Chair
smith.colleen.marie@gmail.com

Governmental Affairs is charged with the task of addressing issues in the University, Borough, and State spectra. The committee is responsible for looking into any and every matter that falls under these three categories and creating respective plans of actions. Currently the committee is addressing the recently announced budget cuts for Penn State and the three other State-Related Universities: Temple, Lincoln, and University of Pittsburgh, by working the the Governmental Affairs Committee in the Commonwealth Council of Student Governments (CCSG). The committee is also researching Off-Campus Meal Plans and Tenant/Landlord Mediation Centers at other Big Ten Universities, so that we can develop and strengthen these two programs at Penn State. In an ongoing effort to increase student voter turnout, the Governmental Affairs Committee is also devising a course of action to educate and excite Penn State Students for the Centre County and State College Borough Elections this November.

Dustin Dove – Internal Development Committee Chair
dustin.dove@gmail.com

Essentially, the Internal Development Committee is the regulator and “watch-dog” committee of the UPUA, ensuring integrity, fairness, and openness. Internal Development reviews all executive appointments and suggests amendments and improvements to the governing documents, including the UPUA Constitution, Assembly Bylaws and Elections Code.

The Internal Development Committee is responsible for ensuring that the UPUA runs smoothly and is truly working on behalf of students.

Nick Mance – Facilities Committee Chair
ngm5013@psu.edu

The UPUA Facilities Committee represents and advocates for students in the areas of academic, recreational, maintenance, and transportation facilities and services. The Facilities Committee is directly involved with CATA, ResLife, Housing and Food Services, the Parking Office, and other related entities in advocating for students. The committee also administers and assists the president in the operation of the Facility Fee Board, as well as providing student representation on other committees. Our committee is looking forward to this school year to continue to be involved in other aspects of student life as they pertain to university facilities and services.