Elections were held for multiple-chair positions in the final Student Council meeting of the semester Wednesday.
The Associated Students of Madison also heard recommendations from a budget allocation committee and an update on the campus diversity plan.
Elections for chair positions
In the election for the Retention and Recruitment Chair, there was a 10-10 tie between Carissa Szlosek and Adrian Holtzman. The vote remained at 10-10 three times, before Szlosek was elected chair by a vote of 10-9.
Szlosek was not in attendance at the meeting, but sent a letter in which she highlighted her desire to get different types of people around campus involved in ASM.
ASM representatives said they voted for Szlosek for her outgoing, upbeat personality and her willingness to get others involved with student government.
Additionally, Hannah Kinsella was elected University Affairs committee chair, and Genevieve Carter was elected Nominations Board Chair. Both ran unopposed.
Diversity Committee Plan
Ryan Adserias, Ad Hoc Diversity Committee co-chair, also gave an update on progress made on the Diversity Plan for the 2013-2014 school year.
Adserias said phase one and two, the data collection and analysis are complete. Phase three, design and recommendations, is currently underway, he said.
In phase three, the committee is looking at ways in which the university should create a new diversity plan and how it should institute the plan.
Adserias said one thing the committee was focusing on was an inclusive excellence framework. This will emphasize “leadership, responsibility and accountability in the pursuit of equity, diversity and excellence,” he said.
Adserias said moving forward, the committee will come up with a draft recommendation to the campus and community and present them to governance bodies as well.
Budget Allocation Review Committee
Jeffrey Lewis, a student representative, and Tim Norris, from the Office of the Vice Provost, spoke to Student Council regarding the Budget Allocation Review Committee.
The Review Committee is a committee of representatives from all over the university, consisting of university administrators, faculty, staff and students who will study new budget models for the university, Lewis said.
The current budget method used at UW does not provide options for transparent decisions, so exploring other options could be better for UW, Lewis said.
“The committee would like to help the university in creating a holistic budget plan for the university and its future,” Lewis said.
Norris said a problem with the current budget plan arises when different schools’ enrollments within the university fluctuate, but resources for expanding schools do not follow. This can result in deans having a difficult time planning things for the school, he said.
Norris said the budget should allow schools and deans to anticipate changes in the future and make it easier for them to work their allocated budget around these changes.
Norris and Lewis said the committee has just been given the task of reviewing whether there is a need for a change in the budget structure at UW. The report from the committee will come out in February, they said.
