President Stephen Jennings’ first official act as president was to replace the thick wooden door that led into his office.
“It just seemed bizarre to me that you couldn’t look out and couldn’t look in,” he said. “I changed it to glass in the first week.”
It didn’t take long before all the doors on the second floor of Olmsted Hall were switched to glass. This desire for transparency foreshadowed Jennings’ nine-year term as he focused on being the students’ president.
“I really think that President Jennings’ No. 1 thing while he was here was making sure the students were taken care of,” senior Nicole Lodewyk said.
During his presidency, students have seen the construction of North Hall, Ridgway Center and the School of Business Administration. They’ve also seen parking lots become green space and an increase in student diversity. Sure, he’s raised a lot of money, close to $80 million, but more importantly, Jennings never passed up an opportunity to get coffee with a student.
