For the second time in 2015, Student Government Association has a new adviser.

During the Senate’s meeting Wednesday, Student Body President Joseph Shepard announced that Marché Fleming-Randle, an assistant dean in the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, would take over as SGA’s adviser. Fleming-Randle replaced Eric Sexton, vice president of Student Affairs.

Sexton replaced Wade Robinson, Wichita State’s former vice president of Student Affairs, when he was promoted to his dual position as executive director of Athletics and vice president of Student Affairs in April. Sexton will remain as vice president of Student Affairs despite his removal from SGA.

Quick turnaround

Like Sexton’s promotion in April, which was announced to Student Affairs and made public in a span of hours, Fleming-Randle’s promotion to SGA adviser happened quickly.

Shepard said he met with President John Bardo on Monday after expressing concerns about Sexton’s dual role in Athletics and Student Affairs to a faculty member.

“I, as president, was unhappy,” Shepard said. “That doesn’t reflect on the cabinet. I was unhappy with Eric being in that position serving as SGA adviser. I didn’t feel that I was getting the support that I needed.”

Within an hour of the exchange with the faculty member, Bardo’s secretary called him, Shepard said. He had a meeting with Bardo that day to address his concerns.

“I said, ‘This is something that we want,’” Shepard said. “I can tell you that students outside the association are not happy with who you’ve appointed to the position of Student Affairs.”

Bardo suggested appointing Fleming-Randle to the position, and Shepard agreed to the promotion.

“She is an advocate of what she believes in,” Shepard said. “She’s an advocate for the students she serves and for that experience alone. I told Dr. Bardo, ‘Absolutely. I think that I, personally, would be pleased and I think the student senate would be pleased, too.’”

Fleming-Randle’s appointment to SGA adviser was made official Wednesday and announced that evening.

The ‘right thing’

Bardo and Sexton both said Fleming-Randle’s position was well timed.

Sexton said he has thought “for a while” about how the university can best serve and advise SGA. He said he thought about it again at the beginning of the week.

“I decided this was an opportune time to work again [on] how do we develop, put the right people in the right seats to assist student government and achieving the things they want to achieve and provide an environment of success for that important leadership organization,” Sexton said.

Sexton said he was involved in the conversation about SGA receiving a new adviser.

Bardo said it is important for SGA to have someone who can advise student senators and serve as their advocate.

“I think that it’s important that we have enough staff time with them so they have the support and training they need to be more effective,” Bardo said.

In addition, he said it was the right time for the change to happen.

“When this came up as an issue, it just seemed like the right thing and Eric thought it works, so we went with it,” Bardo said. “I think it’s a win-win for everyone.”

Shepard said he felt Sexton had not been able to give SGA the support it needed in order to be an efficient and productive senate.

“I will say that this is a very prevalent time at our institution for students,” he said. “I think that we can’t afford to miss any time, we can’t afford to miss any beats and I think taking note of that, we made a request that we have a new adviser appointed who can devote the time to us, who is able to be here and someone who is not holding dual positions at the institution that require a lot of time.”

He applauded Bardo for listening to the concerns of students and taking action.

“This was a request made by the students,” Shepard said.

New adviser

Fleming-Randle has been at WSU as an assistant dean in LAS since 2007. She said she regularly works with faculty to help students. One of her goals in coming to WSU was to bring some diversity to the university, she said.

“I’ve always been the minority everywhere I went,” she said. “Being in this arena that I’m in now, I try to teach the students that it’s OK to be different. ‘Make it happen, captain,’ is what I always tell them.”

She teaches ethnic studies classes, including classes on the black experience and the black child.

“Teaching is my passion,” she said. “I always say teaching is my therapy.”

She said she plans to contact other SGA advisers in the state to get some advice on how to effectively serve as adviser.

“You can read the job description all day, but things change,” Fleming-Randle said.

She said she plans to be pro-active in her role.

“Being the SGA adviser is going to be a new role to me, but I’m prepared to take it on,” she said.

One thing Shepard, Bardo and Sexton can all agree on is that Fleming-Randle is qualified to serve as SGA’s adviser.

They all spoke highly of her abilities.

“I’m just excited to have Dr. Marché, as well as her skill set, to continue to help build a great student leadership core,” Sexton said. “Her efforts to work with our student government and being their faculty adviser with her skill sets bring nothing but additional success to our Student Government Association.”

Shepard said not only will Fleming-Randle be able to serve as an adviser for Senate, but for him, as well.

“I think she is able to advise me on what is the best steps to take in order to carry out something,” he said.

For him, the appointment of Fleming-Randle will help SGA grow.

“It’s going up from here,” he said. “I don’t see us going down.”