After two preliminary rounds of interviews, the Wisconsin Union Council announced four student officers to serve for the 2012-13 academic year.

UW student Sarah Mathews will replace current Union President Katie Fischer while Jose Cornejo, Tara Centero and Courtney Severson will fill the three vice president positions in the areas of Public Relations, Program Administration and Leadership and Development, respectively.

Fischer outlined the selection process, which began in January, when Union Council initiated its campuswide recruitment process, involving extensive marketing and outreach efforts to encourage students to apply for the leadership within the Union’s Student Programming Board.

Current officers partnered with 10 academic departments, including various student organizations and the Associated Students of Madison, to generate awareness among the student body for the upcoming campaign, Fischer said.

Of the initial pool of applicants, the Union Nomination Board selected seven students to continue on to Thursday evening’s final interview before the Union Council, Union Director Mark Guthier explained.

Matthews said accessibility for all students was a key objective of the recruitment process.

“Student and staff leaders are very vocal about making this as fair and accessible a process as possible,” Mathews explained. “We always want the best possible candidate pool possible to apply.”

Given the confidential nature of the review process, Union Council representatives could not disclose the extent of applicants’ previous involvement with the Union.

Representatives involved in the process did note the strongest candidates tended to be upperclassmen who had previous leadership experience through other organizations on campus.

“[The Union Council’s panel] did not look for past involvement or experience with the Union. Rather, we looked for candidates that demonstrated leadership skills and position-specific experience,” Fisher said.

The incoming officers will oversee the 300 members on the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s six student programming subcommittees as well as 2,000 members of Hoofers. Yet, as several of the new representatives added, one of the most unique aspects of their position is the independence with which they can respond to their responsibilities.

The candidates will begin their term in late May of this year. In the upcoming months, the four new officers will begin to interview candidates to fill for the seven director positions for the six subcommittees, Guthier said.

Guthier said he is confident the new representatives will rise to the challenge of assembling another dynamic network of student leaders for the upcoming year.

Mathews said one of the greatest challenges the new Union Council will face will involve the logistical challenge of planning events as the Memorial Union undergoes its $100 million renovation, which would close various parts of the building over two years.

However, the leaders on the current Union Council spoke highly to the four representatives’ ability to rise to these challenges.

Fischer added each candidate showed potential to further the Union’s underlying mission to serve as the “heart and soul of the campus.”