Shauna McKnight | News Co-Editor
On Wednesday, May 8, Marketing Club organized a fundraiser in which President Fred Moore and sophomore Ty Klobassa, winner of the President for a Day contest, switched places for a day. President Moore attended all of Klobassa’s classes, while Klobassa filled in for Moore during various meetings throughout the day. This is the second time a fundraiser like this has been conducted since Fred Moore has been president.
Klobassa started his day in the president’s office. His first appointment cancelled, so he had a few hours of down time to read emails and work on various homework assignments. He then went to Alta to meet with one of the many donors for Buena Vista University (BVU). She is a 70-year-old retired school teacher who had gone to BVU in the 1940s and again in the 1970s.
“It was really incredible to hear the story she had to tell. We talked about why she went to school here and what it was like during that time. There have been many changes, but she is still able to remember how different things were during that time. I wish a semester of our tuition currently cost only $65,” Klobassa said. “Meeting with her was my favorite part.”
Klobassa also met with one of the newest Board of Trustees members, Tim Pierce, later that afternoon. Klobassa was surprised with how many donors President Moore meets with on a daily basis. He learned it is an important part of the job because it helps keep costs of the university down for students.
President Moore, on the other hand, had a drastically different day than he is used to. He attended Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice Dr. Stephanie Hays’ Criminology class in the morning and learned about human trafficking. He also attended two of Assistant Professor of Computer Science Jason Shepherd’s classes in the afternoon. Data Structures and Interfacing the Web were interesting classes for him to sit it on.
One thing that President Moore changed from the previous fundraiser was requiring the club to notify the professors. Moore said that last year many professors were shocked and confused to have him sitting in on their classes. One of his favorite parts of the day was seeing professors doing their job.
“I had the opportunity to see two of our best junior faculty in action. They both have different styles and incredibly nice ways with the class; they’re great at getting students involved and participating and it was fun,” Moore said.
