The Graduate and Professional Student Assembly met Wednesday for the last meeting of the school year to prepare for its work in the summer and next year.
All elections for executive board members were unanimous, but two of the positions remain unfilled.
The organization’s vice president for finance position has remained empty since Flora He resigned in January. They’ve tried to fill the position at each meeting this semester but failed to elicit any nominations.
Joe Matson will also resign his position as vice president for programming because of a job offer teaching music history at Illinois State University.
He will move as soon as finals are over because he wants to use the summer to get ready for the job.
Matson took over programming in October after Jesus Estrada resigned.
GAPSA President Brittany Edwards said she has some ideas for how to fill the two empty positions, but she will discuss it with the rest of the executive board before going forward.
The executive vice president position recently became available when Charlie Bruce — who was elected in March — was offered a position campaigning during the summer and into the fall.
Bruce did not attend the meeting Wednesday but in a written report said the position will likely require him to take a semester off from his studies in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
The move will make him ineligible to hold his position in GAPSA.
Alfonso Sintjago was elected to take over the position in a unanimous, uncontested election.
Sintjago is a doctoral candidate in organizational leadership, policy and development.
He said he ran for the position because he has been involved in student affairs since high school and felt the step was a natural progression. He was on the GAPSA internal affairs committee. Edwards said having him take over the role is a good move.
Sintjago said his primary focus for next year will be continuing the restructuring process of GAPSA.
Chet Bodin, Dana Meade and Nicole Conti were all unanimously re-elected to their positions of vice president for public affairs, vice president for grants and vice president for student affairs, respectively.
The assembly also reviewed a Program Evaluation Plan that Edwards said will help the organization improve in the future.
Edwards first suggested the idea for the review in the fall after taking a program evaluation class the previous spring.
She said she asked the instructor if GAPSA could become a client for the class to evaluate in order to have an objective group look at the organization and give feedback.
“That helps us focus what we’re doing and why,” she said.
From the results of the plan, Edwards said the organization will look into things like hiring a permanent office employee and having a regular newsletter.
“By hiring help to come in and do some of the administrative functions more consistently, we’ll have more time to focus on the outputs and outcomes [of GAPSA],” Edwards said.