Working under a tight deadline, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate's Executive Board at Sunday night's Senate meeting appointed former TCU Senator Chas Morrison, a senior, to the position of trustee representative in the area of academic affairs.
The position was left vacant by sophomore Alice Pang, who is on leave from Tufts this semester.
The three trustee representatives on the Senate meet annually with the Board of Trustees to advance certain goals and projects. TCU President Sam Wallis, a senior, explained that the Executive Board felt compelled to fill the position quickly to ensure that upcoming meetings with the Board of Trustees go ahead as scheduled. The trustees required that the vacancy be filled by Friday of last week.
The Executive Board reviewed applications for the position throughout last week. Wallis emphasized that the quick decision by the Executive Board, rather than a Senate-wide election, resulted in the best outcome for the student body under such time constraints.
Morrison next week will meet with the Board of Trustees' Academic Affairs Committee, where he will emphasize that the next generation of professors hired at Tufts should promote excellence in both teaching and research.
"I'm going to do my best to advocate for students' academic needs to the trustees," Morrison said. "I think that the trustee rep position sends a very powerful message, and I'm excited to be a part of that."
Senate bylaws allow the TCU vice president to directly appoint a new trustee representative under such conditions, according to Wallis, who said the application and review process went beyond what was officially required and ultimately led to a more thorough selection process.
The Senate also elected Senator Logan Cotton, a sophomore, as the new chair of the Culture, Ethnicity, and Community Affairs Committee and Senator Wyatt Cadley, also a sophomore, as co-chair of the Services Committee. Logan's election as chair of the committee leaves vacant his position as chair of Allocations Board Council V, which distributes funds for performance groups.
