Follow-Up Interview with the PSGA President

By Isabelle Veloz

PSGA president Nellie Duggan-Haas sitting in the PSGA Conference Room (Photo by Sophia Pallozzi)

Nellie Duggan-Haas is a senior visual arts major who first became involved with the Purchase Student Government Association (PSGA) by joining the Outdoors Club, becoming a PSGA office assistant and facilitating the beginning of Creative Artists Producing Epic Stories (CAPES).

During the 2024 PSGA election, Duggan-Haas ran for the position of PSGA president while serving as the PSGA office manager. They won the presidency in an uncontested election and have held this position since the beginning of the fall 2025 semester. Duggan-Haas is committed to making improvements in shared governance and ensuring that the PSGA continues to foster communities throughout Purchase College.

Read our previous Q&A with Duggan-Haas here.

Tell me about yourself.

I'm a visual arts major focusing on sculpture with a minor in television practice. I joined as an office assistant when I was a freshman and I got exposed to the PSGA through that and I learned more about what the PSGA does and then I got involved in clubs so I was previously the treasurer and then the vice president of the Outdoors Club and Jason the vice president, I helped him start CAPES which was like his passion project and getting involved in clubs I think is what really made me more passionate about the PSGA. 

It was just really nice to feel like we were helping foster a community on campus. [During my freshman year] I really struggled to find community. I felt like there were all these sorts of pockets, but it was clicky, and I didn't see a way in anywhere that I wanted to really become a part of a group or anything like that. The PSGA is just so many different people with so many different interests coming together to try to give the students a better experience and I think that it's really exciting to be a part of that.

What does the PSGA do? How does the PSGA foster communities?

The PSGA incorporates a lot of things that people might not realize are us. The Stood is paid for by the mandatory student activity fee, all clubs are paid for by the mandatory Student Activity fee, and the PSGA’s job is in addition to advocating for the student body, it's allocating the funds from that fee so we also have opportunities, like the finance committee, where any student can actually go and make a presentation and then the members of the student Senate will vote on whether or not to give them money that they request for specific events or initiative.

Duggan-Haas standing next to the PSGA sign outside their office (Photo by Sophia Pallozzi)

What are your responsibilities as PSGA President?

As president, I'm the primary liaison to administration and faculty and staff as well, so I sit on shared governance committees. Shared governance refers to different bodies at the college coming together and communicating and advising campus leadership. We have the college Senate which has representatives from the PSGA or the students as well as from faculty at large which is the faculty body professional staff Council which is the staff body so I'm a vice chair of that because I'm president of the PSGA the other Vice chair is Jessica Bullock who is our advisor and also president of the professional staff Council and then the faculty at large chair is also the chair of the college Senate. I also meet regularly with President Steiper. 

I have direct and more frequent communication with faculty staff and administration compared to most students; today, actually, I sat in on the first meeting of the college council, which is members of the community outside of campus, so there's like Westchester businesspeople and lawyers who advise the college. I also serve on the executive Board of the PSGA, and I facilitate the meetings.

How has your experience been as President of the PSGA?

It's been tiring but very rewarding at the same time. I know it is a paid position at this point; we have some paid positions, some internships, but really, I do see it as an educational experience. I think it's just as valuable, if not more valuable to me personally, than a lot of my classes. I mean, it's a real job, and I'm learning a lot about how higher education works, but also just leadership skills. It's a lot of things that could apply to a lot of different jobs and a lot of different industries, and I think that that's part of what makes it really valuable. Also, just seeing the impact on campus, hearing students compliment the events that we've done, and all that kind of stuff. It's just nice knowing that maybe we made SUNY poor choice, a little bit less of a poor choice. 

You mentioned the importance of shared governance last year during your campaign. How has the progression of shared governance come to fruition?

We have a new [chair of the college Senate] leader, Keith Landa. He has a background in SUNY, like shared governance and being involved at the system level. He's really knowledgeable about the processes of shared governance and best practices. He wants to focus on getting people engaged this year and getting people more active. He wants to make sure governance is an important thing that can make a difference. 

The other nice thing is that we have a new president, and he is open to shared governance, actually being more active and participatory. I feel like everyone knows by now that he’s a much more promising look to the future. I think for shared governance here, I'm cautiously optimistic. We just need people to get involved. If any students want to sit on the college senate or any of its committees, email me at psgapresident@purchase.edu. There are seats available and we meet on Wednesdays. You can join after the first meeting.

During your campaign, you mentioned a survey regarding shared governance. Do you still plan on implementing this?

The shared governance work group that I was a part of did do a survey. It got some responses. There was a report that went out honestly. I think that the work group wasn't as effective as I think that we were all busy with our own stuff, and it would have been more beneficial if we could have put more time into that and made more of an effort to reach out to people and really communicate. I think it's okay, that's in the past now. There will be another survey going out at some point in the coming weeks about PSGA stuff, and also what kind of things people might want me to advocate for, because I do have access to administration, so you know, broader issues that affect the campus.

What do you plan to do post-graduation?

I applied to purchase for film management which is about all sorts of art and entertainment except for film and TV. I switched to visual arts because I was thinking I'd want to do art department work within the film and TV industry. Although I like the visual sets, props production design, and that kind of stuff, I am still interested in [department work]. Through my time in the PSGA, I realized I have a lot of skills that are more administrative-focused. I don't know what specifically I want to do yet, but I'm planning to move to the city and pray that I can afford it.

How do you think that the PSGA is shaping your future?

I think that it's giving me a lot of skills to work with people. The PSGA is a non-profit that includes paid employees, interns, and volunteers. It’s like 300 people or something like that. There's just so many different kinds of interactions that I've been able to have. It has also taught me a lot about myself, the way that I work, and some things I'd like to improve on. I think that a lot of the skills I have fostered here can apply to a lot of different jobs or different industries. I am learning that I need to do something that I like and that I'm passionate about. I am passionate about the PSGA and making this community better. I think that is how I'm able to do so much of this work because I have that passion.

 Is there anything that you want the SUNY Purchase community to know?

I would say get involved, that's my suggestion to everybody. [One thing] getting involved does is it exposes you to resources that you don't even know that the college has, like you just learn so much more and meet so many people and make great connections, for me, it's rewarding.