Members within the ASUO Executive branch will begin the hiring process this week for a new position the Senate approved funding for during summer term.
Former President Emma Kallaway and current President Amelie Rousseau worked toward the end of last year to transfer more than $20,000 that was allocated to pay a graduate teaching fellow to the line item “Special Events & Projects.”
Of that transfer, $10,000 was earmarked to pay the sustainability coordinator in this fiscal year.
Normally, if funds from a past year remain in the budget, they roll over into surplus fund. Kallaway and Rousseau wanted the money to stay out of surplus and instead go to the Holden Leadership Center so it would be more easily accessible.
When the funds weren’t kept out of the surplus budget, Rousseau returned during Summer Senate to rectify the change.
Some senators opposed the unique way the money ended up being held out of the surplus budget, but they still favored using the money to make the new position.
“I gave a lot of objection to the process,” Sen. Chris Bocchicchio said. “It was just a subcommittee making a formal process for earmarking money.”
Bocchicchio said that the main goal of the sustainability coordinator will be to organize the sustainability groups on campus as well as work at making student facilities on campus more sustainable.
ASUO Accountant Lynn Giordano said the unusual way money was held was not necessary, but because of where the money was going, Executive staffers wanted access to it right away.
“It would have gone into surplus, and Senate during fall term could have (accessed it), but hiring is a long process,” Giordano said.
Sen. Jeremy Blanchard said that Climate Justice League, a sustainability group on campus he is a part of, will have one person holding a place on the hiring committee. They will be the only student sustainability group with a member on the committee.
The committee is set to include ASUO Vice President Maneesh Arora, University Outdoor Program Director Dan Geiger, ASUO Leadership Adviser Consuela Perez-Jefferis, ASUO Enviromental Advocate Nathan Howard, and Annie Ward from the Climate Justice League. The committee also includes two non-voting members, Kallaway and Nicole Nelson, ASUO office coordinator.
Blanchard said the Climate Justice League was chosen to be a part of the hiring committee because of the large amount of responsibility they took in creating the position.
Arora said that the position will have several facets connected to helping the various campus groups work together on larger projects.
“A big part is helping all campus groups and facilitate collaboration … working on long-term, large-scale projects,” he said. “(They should) train leadership in campus groups as they come in.”
The groups who have been brainstorming the sustainability coordinator position and who are uninvolved with the hiring process are ready to see the plan come into fruition.
“(The idea has) been around for a while. We’re excited that it’s finally taking off,” ASUO Events Coordinator Molly Bennison said.
Arora confirmed that 11 applications have been received so far, and he hopes to begin phone interviews on Oct. 13 and have someone hired by Nov. 1.
[email protected]