The Associated Students of Madison selected and approved the students who will sit on the Dean of Students Search and Screen Committee Thursday.

The five students selected are Fantima Ashraf, Darren Martin, Alexander Conant, Emily Williams and Jessica Miller. (Alexander Conant is the editor-in-chief of The Badger Herald).

Miller will co-chair the committee with a faculty member.

The Search and Screen Committee will be responsible for recruiting, interviewing, and selecting the future dean of students, a position recently vacated by Alicia Chavez.

The dean of students oversees student life and student services, working to enhance the quality of campus life and ensure a safe, welcoming community.

Ten faculty and academic staff members will join the students in choosing a new dean. The five students will be full participants in the process.

“Students have full voting rights. So since the committee is equal, they have as much stake in the game as anyone else,” said Jessica Miller, chair of ASM and future co-chair of the committee.

Bryan Gadow, chair of ASM’s Shared Governance Committee, the body charged with selecting the applicants, said his committee was looking for well-rounded students who have had previous experience with the Dean of Students Office.

“It was a very difficult process,” Gadow said. “There were a lot of qualified applicants, and pretty much any one of them could have served and done a superb job representing students.”

Nearly 30 students applied for the five positions.

The Search and Screen Committee hopes to start interviewing candidates in March and select a new dean of students by the end of the semester or early summer.