ASUSU's
'visionary' president enjoying the whirlwind
By Marie MacKay
February 9, 2006 | From lobbying on Capitol Hill to attending Board of Trustees
meetings to forming better relations with Logan City,
whatever the task may be, this year's ASUSU president,
Quinn Millet, has a lot on his mind -- but that's what
he likes.
"I thought it would be a great experience and it has
been," he said. "I consider myself lucky for having
had the opportunity."
Millet compared his job to the CEO of a large business
who has more than 100 three-minute conversations a day
and each one is about something different.
"It's a lot of work and there's so many things to
remember at the same time," he said.
During the more than nine months that he has been
president, this Orem native said he, along with the
rest of the Executive Council and Academic Senate, are
more than happy with their accomplishments this year.
Tiffany Evans, director of Student Involvement and
Leadership has worked with many ASUSU presidents in
the past and has been impressed with Quinn's ability
to help the most amount of students as possible.
"I would classify him as a visionary," Evans said.
"I think he's been an excellent representative for the
students."
As part of his platform at the beginning of his term
as president, Millet said he would meet and listen to
a variety of student issues and concerns and take those
issues to administrators and legislators as he advocates
for the best overall experience possible at USU.
One such accomplishment was getting the Utah Legislature
to put the HPER building on a five-year list to receive
funding for renovation.
"He kind of rallied everyone on ASUSU to get excited
about it and support the cause," said Rosie Strong,
Athletic vice president who spear-headed the project.
"He's been really helpful in working to get the administration
to support this."
Millet has also been actively involved in the Utah
Student Association, which represents 110,000 students
at 11 institutions of higher education in Utah. During
this year's legislative session, Quinn lobbied in support
of an additional $1 million in additional on-going financial
aid for all higher education institutions throughout
the state.
"Within the last three years, USA has taken student
lobbying to the next level," he said. "It has been very
successful."
Among other items, he also helped to lobby for House
Bill 66, which will provide 400 tuition waivers to Utah
State University students from Idaho.
"House Bill 66 will be a big help in enrollment,"
Millet said.
Among other projects, ASUSU is also trying to improve
relations with Logan City and create a new position
that will be a liaison with the city and the university,
he said.
Millet is also working on establishing a university
radio station and installing changing stations in each
of the bathrooms on campus.
Aside from working directly with members of the Executive
Council and Academic Senate, each ASUSU president works
closely with President Stan Albrecht and is a voting
member of the Board of Trustees.
"Working with [President Albrecht] is great; he really
does care about student issues," Millet said. "He makes
sure we're working towards the same objective."
In comparing USU with other universities, Millet said
USU is the envy of higher education as far as student
life goes, which he has tried to maintain.
"We have a college-town environment," he said. "A
lot of things are geared toward students."
After Millet graduates in May, he hopes to pursue
a degree in law.
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