If statewide and national organizations are any measure, UofL students have some pretty good leaders looking out for their best interests.

In April UofL Vice President for Student Affairs Tom Jackson Jr. assumed a one-year term as president of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). Shortly after, UofL Student Association Government President O.J. Oleka was selected chair of the statewide Board of Student Body Presidents.

Jackson will be an international spokesperson for student development issues for ACPA College Student Educators International. The organization, headquartered in Washington D.C. at the National Center for Higher Education, is a comprehensive student affairs association that advances student affairs issues. It has nearly 8,500 members representing 1,500 private and public institutions from 27 countries.

“It’s humbling to be the spokesperson for student affairs issues across the globe,” says Jackson, who came to UofL in 2007. “We in ACPA look at how we can best serve our students on our respective campuses and how we can improve campus climates so our students have a better place to learn.”

In Oleka’s role with the BSBP, he is a key representative and spokesman for Kentucky’s public college students to the Council on Post-Secondary Education, the General Assembly, the governor and any other official authority of the state.

“It’s an honor,” Oleka (right) says of his new post. “We as a board have a lot of people looking to us for leadership.”

BSBP represents more than 250,000 students at Kentucky’s public colleges, including the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

One of the group’s main goals will be to work with the state legislature to stabilize funding to colleges and universities, Oleka says, noting that BSBP would like college tuition to stay at affordable prices that make it possible for students to attend school.

Oleka, who was elected UofL SGA president this past spring, is a senior marketing major from Frankfort. He is a Porter Scholar, student orientation staff member and a member of the Association of Black Students.