The undergraduate student government approved a key presidential appointment at their general meeting Tuesday night when they chose the commission head who will deal primarily with the council’s budget.
Priscilla Chen will be the Undergraduate Students Association Council’s new finance committee chairwoman beginning July 1.
Chen did not attend the meeting and could not be reached for comment.
Though some councilmembers had reservations about approving an absent applicant, most thought she was qualified.
Chen has held numerous leadership roles in the Asian Pacific Coalition and in the UCLA Model United Nations Program.
Council approved Chen – who was recommended by President Anica McKesey and approved by the Appointments Review Committee – with a 9-3-0 vote. ARC reviews applicants who are forwarded by the president before they are presented to council.
As head of the finance committee, Chen will be responsible for making budget recommendations to council about how much money should be allocated to student groups.
Many councilmembers were confident about Chen’s abilities as the committee chairwoman.
“Her previous experience in dealing with organizations and her understanding of the budget and proposal processes made her the most qualified applicant,” McKesey said.
Members of ARC shared the same sentiment.
Chen seemed like she is willing to learn and will be committed to the position, said Hrug DerManuelian, the current finance committee chairman and member of ARC.
Still, some councilmembers preferred that Chen actually be at the meeting to address their concerns.
Community Service Commissioner Justin Schreiber said he had a few questions that he would have liked to ask Chen before approving her. Schreiber was concerned with how Chen would allocate funds to those groups she had been previously been involved with and how she would deal with potential budget cuts to the USAC budget.
Though he considers Chen to be qualified, Campus Events Commissioner Jason Gaulton said the applicant should have been present at the meeting to address council’s questions considering the importance of her position.
Student Welfare Commissioner Janet Chiang agreed – she wanted to have a face to the name before making the appointment.
McKesey said she would ask Chen to attend next week’s council meeting to address their concerns.
Though Schreiber, Gaulton and Chiang voted against Chen’s appointment, they said they still believed she was a qualified applicant and would be able to successfully do her job.
The finance committee chair is one of the two most important appointments the president makes, said Justin Levi, the current budget review director. Levi said the other appointment is that of the BRD.
The BRD is responsible for informing and working with student groups about USAC budget processes. President Anica McKesey said she plans to forward Levi’s replacement to council next week.
The two budget advisers played a key role in the USAC budget processes throughout the past academic year.
These advisers worked extensively with council and student groups to deal with substantial budget cuts at the beginning of the year.
DerManuelian and Levi also made recommendations to council later in the year when the budget experienced an influx of funds with the passage of a fee referendum.
A huge quality that the budget advisers need is the ability to learn quickly and Chen has that, DerManuelian said.