STUDENT SENATE

Committee Chairs

Student Body President
Alex Mace
Executive Committee Chair
amace@smu.edu

Classification: Senior

Hometown: St. Louis, MO

Major(s): Political Science, Economics, and Spanish

Personal Statement: My term will focus on improving the quality and substance of community on-campus by a) streamlining communication between Students and Senators, b) strengthening ties between SMU and the greater Dallas area, and c) revitalizing the spirit of SMU tradition.

Anthony McAuliffe
Membership Committee Chair
senatemembership@smu.edu
Classification: Junior
Hometown: Keller, Texas
Major(s): Political Science, Spanish, and Communication Studies

Personal Statement: As Membership Chair, I hope to fill vacancies quickly to keep the Senate Chamber full. I also seek to strengthen Senate committees by selecting strong and dedicated students to serve on those committees.

Hiba Ibad
Communications Committee Chair
senatecommunications@smu.edu
Classification: Junior
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Major(s): Biochemistry and Human Rights

Personal Statement: As Communications Chair, I hope to encourage the student body to voice their concerns by publicizing the role of Speaker's Podium to the student body and by working with members of Senate, Daily Campus, and Hughes Trigg Governing Board to create an effective medium for clearer communication.

Jacob Watts
Organizations Committee Chair
senateorganizations@smu.edu
Classification: Junior
Hometown: Unknown
Major(s): Accounting with a Concentration in Energy Management

Personal Statement: My primary goal for this year is to improve both efficiency within the Organizations Committee and communication between Student Senate and the organizations we work with.

William Badarak
Endowment Committee Chair
senateendowment@smu.edu
Classification: Junior
Hometown: Riverside, California
Major(s): Finance and Economics

Personal Statement: This 2011-2012 school year, I will be focusing on making the inaugural year of the Endowment Committee a success. Working with key administrators and Senate officers, I will work to establish core fundraising efforts with the goal of establishing new scholarships for the Senate Endowment. I will be working closely with the Scholarship Committee Chair to maintain the transparency and ease in the process achieved in the last several years.

Jeff Whelan
Finance Committee Chair
senatefinance@smu.edu
Junior
Hometown: Manhattan Beach, California
Majors: Finance and Political Science

Personal Statement: To maximize the effectiveness and benefit of Student Senate funding by maintaining communication and understanding between the Finance Committee and students.

Christos Patelis
Student Concerns Committee Chair
senatestudentconcerns@smu.edu
Classification: Sophomore
Hometown: League City, Texas
Major(s): Unknown

Personal Statement: To improve student government communication with the general student body, as well as to streamline and improve the senate's ability to pass legislation based upon the student body's need.

Kimberly Elmazi
Diversity Committee Chair
senatediversity@smu.edu
Classification: Junior
Hometown: Arlington, Texas
Major(s): Political Science and International Studies

Personal Statement: As members of the Diversity Committee and the greater SMU community, our mission is to build a bridge of communication and transparency between the organizations targeted by the Diversity Committee and Student Senate. Furthermore, we hope to engage and unite our various minority communities so that they may better support one another.

Shay McDonald
Scholarship Committee Chair
smcdonald@smu.edu

Classification: Sophomore

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Major(s): Advertising and English

Personal Statement: To overall inspire the student community by offering opportunities for individuals to be rewarded for excellence and merit as well as continue to improve and update the processes by which the committee operates for better efficiency in the future.