By Bao Ho
The Students’ Union Library Endowment Fund is once again under the control of students.
The SU Library Endowment levy, which has been collecting five dollars from every undergraduate student since its inception in 1997 to go toward an endowment fund, was voted unanimously on the Sept. 8 Students’ Legislative Council to be administered by the SU. The fund, which generates approximately $200,000 a year, will be distributed to the library on an as-need basis.
Also approved at Tuesday’s SLC was the first reading to grant $30,000 to the university as the su’s first gift to the Library Endowment.
The amount was initially floated to the university as a loan to hire a development officer to raise funds for the library. Circumstances changed on Aug. 25 when the SU met with Director of Development, Individual Giving Christine Ward and communicated that the SU would administer the funds and that the $30,000 would be the first donation toward the Endowment Fund.
In the past, the fund was donated to the library, but would be managed by The University Budget Committee, which could possibly divert the funds elsewhere.
"We’re hoping that this action will strengthen our organization’s responsiveness to the needs of the library," said SU Vice-president Academic Toireasa Jespersen. "It’ll also prevent us from having to wade through the university’s infamous bureaucracy to assist the library."
Another motive for the move was to realign the fund toward the su’s goal of Charitable Status, which was announced earlier this year.
"Having the SU administer the funds will keep it within our organization and we hope it will fit within the spirit of our pursued Charitable Status," said Jespersen.
Ward approved of the re-administration of funds by the SU.
"The SU has managed the fund competently and we’re quite confident they made a good decision," she said. "We support it, and we know that it will ultimately be good for the library."
"In addition to making the fund more targeted, the proposal also resolves some issues left over from last year," said Jespersen.