Student Government Director of Communications Will Harris submitted his resignation to SG President Cassie Alsfeld on Sunday.
“I decided it was the best thing for me to do,” Harris said.
Harris cited personal reasons and “irreconcilable differences” with Alsfeld.
“The concerns I raised were over differences in the understanding of what my job description entailed,” Harris said.
Alsfeld said she thought Harris did a “fantastic” job and said she was concerned that Harris did not submit his resignation before the Student Senate.
“The jobs have created a lot of stress on everybody because it’s virtually treated as a volunteer position,” Alsfeld said. “There’s a lot of elements weighing into people’s decisions this year.”
Harris’ resignation comes as the executive staff approaches restructuring.
Alsfeld said she has been monitoring staff performance and interaction. She said the executive staff recently went through mid-semester evaluations, including meetings with each individual staff member.
“It was a very meticulous way to really analyze our organization,” she said.
Alsfeld said the analysis showed a need for more support “at the top,” and she said she noticed some members had untapped skills.
As part of the restructuring, the executive staff will be accepting new applications for some positions. Alsfeld said the applications will be available before winter break.
Harris is the second executive staff member to resign this semester. Former SG Executive Chief of Staff Christen Romero submitted his resignation at the Oct. 17 Student Senate meeting.
Romero worked this past summer to raise more than $40,000 for this year’s SG Corporate Sponsorship account.
Romero said he resigned because he was engaged in April and he has another job.
“As much as SG requires, I just wasn’t able to fulfill the position as much as was needed,” Romero said. “I thought it would be better if someone else took it.”
Romero said he will work with whoever takes over his responsibilities to ensure the corporate account is handled correctly.
—-Contact Daniel McBride at [email protected]