By Diptanshu Rao
My name is Diptanshu Rao, and I will be serving as the Indiana Memorial Union Board President for 2022. I have served on Union Board since 2020 – starting as a Director for Summer Board and then as the Vice President of Finance. The 2022 Union Board consists of a fantastic team of directors with both veteran members and fresh perspectives, and I am extremely excited to elaborate on the direction we want to push Union Board in this year!
The 113th Board kicked off this year through our annual Malkin retreat, where the board nailed down our expectations and goals for the new year as the IU community transitions out of an online environment. Our main goal is to focus on expanding as an organization by redirecting the task of programming towards assistant directors and committee members. The primary philosophy behind our goals is to enrich the members of the Union Board committee while providing directors the bandwidth to allocate their time to programming as well as towards campus-wide initiatives.
To make this all happen, we plan on involving assistant directors (ADs) in the programming process to a greater extent, as well as encouraging Directors to foster a sense of community. By redirecting the efforts of the programming directors to facilitation, and delegation, we expect this to increase engagement within the organization and increase member retention by affording individual members more responsibility in the programs we coordinate. ADs will also be encouraged to attend board meetings, make proposals, and develop closer ties to Union Board members beyond their own committee.
Building off the strong foundation laid out by the 112th Board, I am so excited to see the 113th Board push this organization to even greater heights and create high-quality, large-scale, consistent, and impactful programs for the current and future IU students. Thank you for entrusting me in leading these endeavors, and if you need any information about our current or upcoming programs and events, feel free to reach out to me at ubpres@indiana.edu.
Diptanshu Rao
2022 Union Board President
Leave a Reply