Corinne Floyd and Danny Islas Becker were elected as the 2023-24 president and vice president, respectively, of UT’s Senate of College Councils. Results were released on the same day as the election on March 9. Floyd and Islas Becker ran uncontested.

Floyd said she first began to consider a run for president when she was co-chair for the Senate Equity & Inclusion Committee due to uncertainties about strong potential president and vice president candidates. Floyd said she feels she has the experience to serve in an executive position and provide for the UT community.

“What inspired me to run was that I absolutely adore the people in this organization,” said Floyd, an advanced human development and family sciences honors junior. “Our entire exec (team) poured into building this community within Senate. I just wanted to continue on that path, and president was the next step.”

Islas Becker said he had a different introduction to Senate and was mostly involved in the College Council. After his second year, he said he was finally able to see the inner workings of the Senate and thought he could contribute in a leadership role. 

“There’s so much history of so many people in the past just not being able to be included in the Senate, and a lot of people, like my predecessors, worked to make sure that these spaces are more inclusive,” said Islas Becker, a biochemistry and government junior. “I’ve just been wanting to carry on that tradition and to help make sure that these spaces are sustainable going forward.”

During their tenure as president and vice president, the pair said they intend to continue with initiatives like the College Tuition Budget Advisory Committee Report, a survey intended to gauge student sentiments regarding tuition and budget priorities. They also want to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education and on navigating governing document changes, which impact the way Senate operates and the roles of Senate members. 

Floyd said Senate is still adjusting to the recent changes to its governing documents. 

“(We are) making sure that we have cohesive membership recruitment practices (and) that we’re able to work with councils on recruiting both our internal membership as well as our executive board and leadership team,” Floyd said. “Also, an external focus this year is building up smaller councils so that that process really isn’t a burden onto them.”