ASGA Celebrates Fourth Anniversary

Contact: W.H. “Butch” Oxendine, Jr. Executive Director
Phone: 352-373-6907
E-mail: info@asgaonline.com
Web: http://www.asgaonline.com

ASGA Celebrates Four Years of Improving Student Governments

(March 17, 2008) -- The American Student Government Association (ASGA) celebrates its fourth anniversary on March 17, 2008, riding on a wave of growth since its debut as the first-ever professional association serving Student Government leaders and their advisors at colleges and universities.

ASGA launched on March 17, 2004 with 100 Founding Member institutions nationwide. Since then, 569 more institutions of all types and sizes have joined, from 49 states, D.C., the Bahamas, and even some foreign nations. ASGA conducts research for members and continues to gather intensive data on every higher-education institution in America, compiling and categorizing everything from SG officer contact information to SG documents, signature programs, and precedent.

"ASGA keeps growing because our resources save student leaders time, energy, and money,” says W.H. “Butch” Oxendine, Jr., ASGA Founder and Executive Director. "When SGs have access to thousands of programs, trends, and best practices, they don't waste their time reinventing the wheel. They can put their full effort into championing issues that matter to students while offering real benefits."

Over the past year, ASGA has worked to expand its networking potential, adding a Facebook group (currently with nearly 1,100 members) and offering SG training events in new locations (see www.asgaonline.com/conferences). "The real power of our association stems from making personal connections with other student leaders, advisors, and SG experts from across the country," Oxendine says. "At our conferences and via several online forums, members can learn directly from peers, building on each other's experiences, forming coalitions to tackle larger issue, and leaning on each other for support. Attendees often say that ASGA's SG conferences are the most impactful they’ve ever attended."

The organization has also recruited some of the nation's top SG advisors, student affairs professionals, legal and lobbying experts, and former SG leaders to help address members' needs. These associates speak at ASGA's conferences, serve on the "ASGA Experts" panel, and travel to campuses for personalized consulting (see www.sgconsultant.com). In September, an ASGA representative accompanied the US Department of State to Ukraine to help train SG leaders in the fledgling democracy.

ASGA's administrators are encouraged by the association's growth and will continue working to strengthen SGs here and abroad. ”When a school has a strong and effective SG, it aids the institution in many tangible ways.” Oxendine says. “SG can help recruit new students who want get involved in SG and other clubs, retain existing students by encouraging more campus involvement overall, and also build a loyal alumni base who loves their school and desires to give back. ASGA is helping SGs become more effective and influential, and that is a major positive– not only for colleges and universities, but also for our nation itself, since so many former SG leaders end up as public servants.”

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