Around 5:40 a.m., as the sky is just beginning to brighten, she reaches her office at the LEAD Center, the campus leadership and advising center for student organizations, and begins her daily routine: Pick up a copy of The Daily Californian, check her schedule online and prepare for a busy day of meetings with student leaders.

The end of June will mark Crowder’s retirement after 30 years of work for the ASUC and 44 years for UC Berkeley. Last week, the ASUC Senate passed two bills recognizing Crowder and her colleague Irene Lam for their longtime service. Crowder was honored specifically for leaving behind a legacy of student leaders who have developed under her close mentorship.

“Jan is clear-thinking and indefatigably committed to contributing to the greater good … whether it be by giving some unsavory but needed advice to a well-meaning but misguided student or staff or by getting the party started with a laugh,” said Millicent Morris-Chaney, a UC Berkeley alumna and one of Crowder’s colleagues at the LEAD Center.

As former director of student affairs and a current LEAD Center coordinator, Crowder has been a source of constant support for hundreds of students over the years, advising them not only on organizational issues such as program planning and finances but also on personal and academic matters.

Morris-Chaney recalled how Crowder personally encouraged her to dream big and apply for a job with the ASUC Auxiliary after her own graduation from UC Berkeley 13 years ago.

“She saw qualities in me I did not know I had, and she supported the development of those qualities by encouraging my professional growth, providing honest and direct feedback and having confidence in my ability,” Morris-Chaney said.

Crowder has also worked closely with elected ASUC officials over the years, guiding them as they developed their visions.

“Student leaders come and go … but Jan was always there, keeping track of decades of student policy, constitutional changes and how to engage students without taking their agency from them,” said Nadesan Permaul, former director of the ASUC Auxiliary and a current UC Berkeley lecturer in rhetoric. “That is a gift.”

ASUC Executive Vice President Justin Sayarath remembered how Crowder reassured him during an especially stressful time last summer.

“Jan pulled me aside and helped me gather my thoughts,” Sayarath said. “She told me that I was doing a great job and that everything was going to be OK … (then) she sat down with me and ran through my plans to pack up the rest of the 300 organizations in Eshleman. She helped make the Lower Sproul surge successful, and I am so thankful for her.”

Since being hired as a typist in 1969 for Andrew Billingsley, one of the first faculty members of the campus department of ethnic studies, Crowder has gone through several different positions at UC Berkeley, including secretary at the chancellor’s office; office manager at the environment, health and safety office; director of student affairs in the ASUC and, now, a LEAD Center coordinator.

Her experiences within the various departments on campus have given her a wealth of knowledge about the inner functions of the school. Crowder attributes her success to the numerous staff members and students she has worked with.

“Everything I’ve done is with their support,” Crowder said. “It has been an experience of continuous educational growth for me.”

This support was especially crucial eight years ago, when Crowder was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though Crowder was declared cancer-free after only a couple of years of treatment, the experience caused her to reconsider her life philosophy.

“I know the cancer does come back,” Crowder said, “so I want to enjoy life while I can.”

Though Crowder is retiring, she plans to remain in steady contact with the students and staff members she has worked with during her term.

“It’s not just a job — I truly care,” Crowder said. “I’m a little bit sad about leaving … (but) it’s time for me to make way for the young ideas.”

Contact Alison Fu at afu@dailycal.org.

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When the senate depletes the roughly $1.6 million in funds that it collects from student fees, it relies on a Carry Forward Fund, which holds about $400,000 in reserves, according to ASUC Finance Officer Amir Chini.

Though the ASUC Senate has drawn money from its Carry Forward Fund for years, it was not running  a deficit because the amount of funds being drawn was replaced by funds from the ASUC Auxiliary’s business operations, according to ASUC Attorney General Hinh Tran.  However, because the Auxiliary has not made significant profits for several years, according to Tran, funds taken from the Carry Forward account have not been replaced. ASUC officials are classifying this unsustainable spending as the deficit.

At the meeting Wednesday night,  Tran warned senators that they should begin explaining to their constituencies that the levels of funding they now receive might be in jeopardy because of the deficit.

“We’ve reached a critical threshold where we have to take action now, or very soon or the Senate will deplete the Carry Forward Fund, and we’ll have to cut funding to student groups,” Tran said at the meeting.

The ASUC bylaws mandate that the senate operate a balanced budget. If revenues and spending are not balanced, the ASUC Judicial Council has the power to freeze senate spending.

To deal with the deficit, senators discussed the possibility of creating a student fee referendum for the spring 2013 ballot that would increase the amount students pay each semester to support the ASUC.

Student Action Senator Mihir Deo, a member of the senate’s financial committee, said a fee increase might be necessary to accommodate robust student life.

“When we’re in Finance Committee, we realize the urgency of certain groups who need that money,” Deo said.

Alternatively, CalSERVE Senator Nolan Pack suggested that the senate might have to cap the number of student groups it funds every semester.

Senators also emphasized the importance of long-term financial stability and avoiding the precedent of operating with an unbalanced budget.

“We need short-term policies to address this issue right now,” Cooperative Movement Senator Jorge Pacheco said. “We need to make sure the Association never goes down the path of structural deficit ever again.”

Tran said his goal was to address the impending deficit crisis in the next year, which Chini emphasized could easily turn out to be larger or smaller than projected.  Any surplus funding that student groups have at the end of the year would be returned to the senate’s contingency fund, shrinking the deficit. Alternately, student groups could request more funding than they were allocated in spring budgeting, causing the deficit to grow.

According to Executive Vice President Justin Sayarath, an ad hoc committee will be appointed soon to address the projected budget deficit.

Jeremy Gordon covers student government. Contact him at jgordon@dailycal.org.

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