ASG Creates Student Administrator Post

The vice president of administration will receive a $20,000 salary and primarily is charged with performing day-to-day clerical duties.

ASG President Jonathan Ducote said the position was created to relieve him of mundane operational tasks.

"I'm being bogged down with doing all this paperwork and can't do what I've been elected to do," Ducote said.

Association members attending Saturday's meeting, including UNC-CH Student Body President Jen Daum, reiterated Ducote's sentiment and approved the position in a 36-28 vote. "In order to lead the administration anywhere, we had to free (Ducote) up from those administrative duties," Daum said.

ASG members had intended for a professional administrator to perform the duties of the newly created vice president, but the BOG froze the hiring process at its September meeting. Members expressed concern over ASG's hiring of an administrator, saying they wanted the association to remain student-run.

The administrator's original job description included not only performing clerical duties but also researching pertinent state legislation and performing minor management duties.

The board said the position had to be limited to clerical duties and halted the hiring process until an altered job description could be approved. The BOG is slated to address the issue at its November meeting.

ASG President Jonathan Ducote said the new position is intended to temporarily replace that of the administrator. The $20,000 salary for the vice president position will come from the $40,000 allotted for the administrator.

"It's basically taking the administrative position and giving it a new name," he said. "It's solving what was becoming an external problem internally."

Ducote said he thinks BOG members will approve of the move because giving the administrative duties to a student addresses a key point of contention.

"One of the board's number one concerns was that the association remain under student control," he said. "I think this sits right in line with what the board has been saying."

But the student-filled position will exist, at most, until the end of the academic year. The vice president of administration will be responsible for hiring a full-time professional replacement meeting the BOG's revised guidelines.

Daum said that she wants the revamped position to be filled well before the spring semester's end and that she intends to ensure that the vice president performs the search effectively. "I expect this person will start the administrator search immediately," she said. "We will definitely hold them accountable."

Though the vice president will be expected to act in a timely manner, it might not be feasible for him to fill the administrator position in less time than the maximum allotted, Ducote said.

He said it will be at least a month before the vice president can begin the search for an administrator, as the position is not likely to be filled for several weeks.

Ducote said he expects interest to be high, though the job will require substantial man hours -- so much so that the ASG has limited the position to a student taking no more than eight academic hours.

"I think the students are out there," he said. "I'll keep doing the work of this person until this person comes along."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.