Leimenstoll works to meet campaign promises

In the student government office, pictures hang on the wall of every student body president since the beginning of the twentieth century.

Will Leimenstoll, who took office in April, is working on his three main platform goals of equity, efficiency and environment to leave his own mark on the University.

As part of his focus on equity, Leimenstoll traveled to Raleigh three times to lobby for additional funding for the UNC system, as the N.C. General Assembly debated the Modify 2011 Appropriations Act, which revised the state’s biennial budget. The act was approved on July 2, despite Gov. Bev Perdue’s veto.

The act will allocate $19.6 million in additional funding to the UNC system, significantly less than the $216 million increase sought by UNC administrators or the $145 million increase Perdue proposed, but more than the $10.5 million increase proposed by the House of Representatives in its original version of the bill.

Sen. Richard Stevens, R-Wake, said part of the funds will support a faculty retention fund and another part will be allocated to additional funding of need-based financial aid.

Leimenstoll considers the additional funds the system secured to be a victory.

“The biggest thing that we were able to do was to provide a student perspective on how the issues actually impact us,” he said.

Stevens, who has been a proponent of additional funding for the UNC system, said he agreed.

“Given the general economic conditions of the state and the economy we’re in right now, I thought it was a good budget,” Stevens said.

Leimenstoll and his staff are also working on a proposed financial aid website, money.unc.edu.

When completed, the website will provide easy access to all available financial aid offered by the University. Leimenstoll and his staff are on track to complete the database for the website by July 20, and expect the site to be up by January or sooner.

They have also received midsummer reports from all but two cabinet committees. Leimenstoll said that by preparing for potential problems now, student government’s work should proceed smoothly when students return in August.

The reports, which were due to Leimenstoll by the end of June, are compiled by the cabinet heads and list where they stand in preparation for the academic year.

“The more that we can just have things ready to go as soon as students get back in the fall, the better,” he said. “That’s when things really get done, but it’s also when things fall through the cracks, so if we can remove as many barriers as possible to getting things done before the school year starts, I think that will set us up for a great year.”

Chris Scanzoni, Leimenstoll’s chief of staff, said he is happy with how the incoming student government is preparing.

“We are 100 percent where we need to be at this point,” he said.

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