By Laura Acuff, Staff Writer
Walking into astronomy class at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, a student sat down and prepared to take an exam for which he’d never seen a study guide.
Just one more point, he told himself. If he could score one more point than the lowest score in the class, he’d consider it a victory. Thus began university president Dr. Royce Money’s day as a college student.
Ryder Jensen, freshman finance major from Abilene, won the opportunity to switch places with the president through a contest sponsored by the Students’ Association. Participants submitted their names, and Money announced the winner, drawn at random, during Monday’s Chapel.
“It’s just an opportunity for a student to experience what happens on the administrative side,” Money said. “For most students, that’s somewhat of a mysterious area: What do administrators do? Why do they do it – this sort of thing. It was just an idea to give a lucky student an opportunity of a
day of an inside view.”
To start the switch, Money and Jensen met for the first time Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast, after which they began their separate schedules.
For Money, this meant reporting to physics professor Dr. Donald Isenhower’s 9 a.m. astronomy class for an exam and then to Bible professor Eddie Sharp’s Acts- Revelation class at 10 a.m. Next, the president joined Jensen and his friends for Chapel and ate lunch with some of Jensen’s peers in the Bean.
Money said he enjoyed his time in the Bean and that he tries to eat with students at least a couple of times each semester regardless of whether or not he switches places with a student.
“It gives me more contact with students,” Money said. “This job has an isolation factor. I don’t teach anymore. I don’t get to be with students very often, so I need to stay in touch with what’s really happening, and that’s one of the ways of doing that.”
After breakfast with Money, Jensen’s schedule included e-mails and letters in the President’s Office, followed by a meeting with Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, vice president and dean of Student Life.
For lunch, Jensen and six friends dined in the President’s Dining Room in the Campus Center, after which he attended more meetings, including meetings with provost Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen and Dr. Michelle Morris, vice president of university relations.
Jensen said switching places with Money gave him a unique perspective on the occasionally overwhelming job responsibilities of an administrative executive.
“It’s real surprising to see how much goes on behind the scenes and that we don’t really get to see, but that takes place,” Jensen said. “Everything that is regular campus life, there’s a lot more that goes on, that takes a lot more preparation, that you don’t really know about.”
Switching roles with a student offers opportunity for greater understanding of the university president’s job description, which is to “tell the story of ACU to as many people as will listen,” Money said.
“It’s quite a job. I love it. I really enjoy my work, and one of the things I enjoy about [switching places with a student] is I get to be with the people that all of this is done for, and that is the students.”
