After 48 years of serving students, Jeanie Morgan retired and saw the mantle of student activities adviser and Student Government Association (SGA) adviser taken up by her successor Kade Gambill.

Gambill worked under Jeanie Morgan as a graduate assistant in the Center for Student Involvement for two years. Gambill said he learned a lot from Morgan and looks forward to using his past experiences as he serves students in this new role.

Don Robertson, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, said he is confident in Gambill’s abilities.

“Kade Gambill is the perfect person to come in behind Jeanie Morgan and continue her outstanding record of student support and service,” Robertson said. “He is very personable, high energy and very student oriented. He has a solid record of successfully working with students and is a perfect fit for this position. He has already begun to leave his mark on campus.”

Gambill said he has already been working with the student senate, the campus activities board, and the Residential College Council (RCA) to plan new strategies for the upcoming school year. Current plans include having smaller, more frequent events for students, as well as moving events outside of the Curris Center to the residential and academic sides of campus with the aim of attracting more students.

“Student Government is at the heart of Student Life at Murray State University,” Robertson said. “We in the administration look to SGA for advice and counsel on how to best meet the needs of our students. SGA is the major programming body on campus. The advisor is critical to SGA in providing continuity training, advice and feedback. It is one of the most important positions on campus that works directly with students.”

Gambill’s office provides students with opportunities to get to know what’s on campus. Whether students want to browse the provided directory of organizations or figure out the next steps to get involved on campus, Gambill said students can always stop by his office for help.

Student involvement is a main goal of Gambill’s, as it was for Morgan. For Gambill, he says SGA is all about student voices.

“One piece of advice that Jeanie gave me, that I think rings pretty true, is that without students, nobody would be here,” Gambill said. “That’s who we are here to serve. So students should always be at the front of our minds when making decisions. These students are here for an education, but they’re also here for an experience. I want to provide the best experience I can to these students, even better than the one that I had, and I consider the experience that I had here at Murray State one of the greatest of my life.”

As he begins his first year cultivating that experience for students, Gambill remains committed to carrying on Morgan’s legacy.

“Jeanie provided a lot of advice,” he said. “She still does and is a great mentor to me. ,” Gambill said. “I know there’s always going to be challenges, but she told me that the good things outweigh those challenges. And she always told me the reason why she stayed within this role for so long is because she loved working with students. I can hope to be half the person that Jeanie is. I love Murray State. I’m an alum of Murray State. I made it my home, so I hope to be here long term and make a career out of this opportunity of serving students.”

The Center for Student Involvement is located on the second floor of the Curris Center.