ASUO Legislative Affairs Coordinator Ben Eckstein will replace outgoing ASUO Executive Chief of Staff Conrad Hulen after he stepped down because he is no longer a student.
Rather than extending the position to all students through the traditional hiring process, ASUO Programs Administrator Sinjin Carey gave ASUO President Amelie Rousseau permission to appoint a replacement for Hulen in the interest of expediency.
Carey said in his letter to the ASUO that an open-hiring period would hinder a decision that could be easily achieved with an appointment.
“I am also convinced that an open-hiring process would delay the appointment of crucial positions and, as a result, would inhibit the student experience inside and outside the ASUO,” Carey said.
He also said in his letter he was assured that the person who Rousseau appointed had been through the original hiring process in May. Carey did not respond to the Emerald’s inquiries before deadline.
Eckstein originally applied for the chief of staff position last spring and was eventually selected as the legislative affairs coordinator.
Rousseau said that her original decisions for the positions were based on what each applicant brought to the table.
“It wasn’t necessarily choosing between (Eckstein and Hulen),” she said. “It was looking at the holistic picture.”
Before his appointment as chief of staff, Eckstein worked with Legislative Affairs Coordinator Sara Marcotte-Levy on the Executive’s push to register students to vote.
Eckstein said he has committed to holding off the transition to the new position until Wednesday, the day after the voter registration deadline, but he said the voter registration drive would be important regardless of his position on staff.
“It’s always been a staff-wide priority,” Eckstein said.
Rousseau said the Executive is not yet sure whether it will need a replacement for Eckstein’s former position.
Looking forward, Eckstein said that although he doesn’t have a depth of technical experience with the chief of staff position, he hopes he is able to support all members of staff well.
“It’s something I’ll have to figure out for myself … it takes really strong support to make a team effective,” he said. “The chief functions to make sure people have the resources they need to accomplish (goals).”
Rousseau said Hulen was gone for a majority of the summer. She said he was absent a significant amount of time at the end of the summer because of family issues.
“Then we realized he wasn’t going to be coming back as a student,” Rousseau said.
Eckstein was not aware of the circumstances of Hulen’s departure, but he said he is disappointed with the recent news.
“It’s unfortunate he is not able to continue,” he said.
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ASUO executive chief of staff position filled by ASUO legislative affairs coordinator
Daily Emerald
October 10, 2010
Ivar Vong
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