Chris Osnato and Kudzai Taziva, president elect and vice president elect of the UGBC and both A&S ’13, recently selected their senior cabinet for the 2012-2013 academic year. The selection of coordinators in each department will take place over the coming week.
This year, applications were down slightly from previous years, but total applications still exceeded 230, according to Osnato. Due to the lower turnout, the application deadline was extended by a few days.
“We extended the application out a couple days and that upped our numbers a bit,” Osnato said. “Generally from years past we are down a bit but we still have a very solid applicant pool, the number was over 230. We feel as though we’re gonna get a very solid cabinet out of that.”
Selection of the 20 UGBC Directors and Deputy Directors that comprise the senior cabinet did not occur as it has in the past. Osnato expressed his hope that their selections would bring UGBC in a new direction.
“We were dedicated to bringing in the best people,” Osnato said. “If you look at our senior cabinet and the senior cabinets of years past you notice some stark differences. Our campaign manager isn’t on our senior cabinet. The campaign manager of the other team is on the senior cabinet. One of their head creative directors is on our senior cabinet. One of their candidates, Jennifer Wanandi, is on our senior cabinet. We selected the people that we thought were going to execute at the highest level for next year and bring about the best UGBC possible.”
Osnato and Taziva also decided on some restructuring in the senior cabinet positions, based on the idea that UGBC has grown too large. Changes included consolidating the multiple financial director positions into one Chief Financial Officer position, and making BC to Boston its own department due to its growing popularity. In making coordinator selections in the coming weeks, Osnato and Taziva left their selected directors and deputy directors with a message to cut back if possible.
“The general message is to cut where you can, because the organization has gotten too big and it’s sort of collapsing in on itself,” Osnato said. “And so our plan then is to cut down on the numbers, but where there are people who are going to execute and showcase some solid talents, you find a place for those people.”
Osnato and Taziva also added a director of organizational development to ensure organizational success in UGBC. Their hope is that the new position will allow UGBC to become more streamlined and undergo frequent reevaluation.
“[The director of organizational development] is going to assist us on evaluating the organization at midyear, making sure we’re living up to our practices and living up to our standards,” Osnato said.
Senior cabinet officers were selected based on “scenario based interviews,” where candidates were given scenarios in which they might have to act during their tenure in UGBC. For example, Osnato said some directors in campus entertainment were given the scenario of an unlimited budget and asked what event they would host. They were given different hypothetical obstacles, like cancellations, problems with the administration, or a lack of success with the event, and then had to respond to the various issues.
“We feel as though one of the things that has lacked in the past year is the way the undergraduate government administration has responded to situations,” Osnato said. “We want to make sure our people are capable of coming up with thoughts quickly.”
Osnato, Taziva, and their senior cabinet will be inaugurated on Monday, April 30.
“We’ve worked hard to put together the best student government possible,” Osnato said. “We hope that when inauguration comes on April 30 people are happy with the product we’ve put together and that it’s shown to be a real dedication to establishing the best student government, not strictly cronyism.”
The senior cabinet for the 2012-2013 will include the following individuals: Matt Nacier, chief of staff and A&S ’14; Scott Geron, chief financial officer and CSOM ’14, Mark Larik, chief advisor and CSOM ’14; Taryn Leroy, director of organizational development and A&S ’13; Sarah Slater, director of BC to Boston and A&S ’13; Tim Koch, deputy director of BC to Boston and A&S ’14; Mike Cavoto, director of campus entertainment and A&S ’13; Dan Rimm, deputy director of campus entertainment and CSOM ’13; Chris Duffy, director of student life and A&S ’13; Jenna Denice, deputy director of student life and LSOE ’14; Allie Bowman, director of communications and A&S ’13; Michael Tibbetts, deputy director of communications and A&S ’13; Taylor Norton, A&S ’13, and Jon Spillane, CSOM ’13, co-directors of the Mentoring Leadership Department; Harry Kent, director of University affairs and A&S ’13; Radha Patel, deputy director of University affairs and A&S ’13; Jen Wanandi, director of community relations and A&S ’13; and Liz Zappala, deputy director of community relations and A&S ’13.
