IOP Committee Elects Chairs

The Student Advisory Committee (SAC) of the Institute of Politics (IOP) elected its chair and vice chair on Sunday, nearly a month ahead of schedule.

Hannah Choi '01 and Richard A. Cooper '01 were elected chair and vice chair. SAC is the student governing body of the IOP.

The chair and vice chair elections usually take place in the beginning of December, along with a slate of IOP committee chairs.

However, this year the top two offices were elected early so the new leadership would be in place for a Nov. 29 semiannual meeting with the senior advisory committee of the IOP, according to outgoing SAC chair Byron J. McLain '00.

Former vice chair Curtis J. Mahoney '00 agreed, adding that changing leadership after an important meeting created a feeling of discontinuity.

The senior advisory committee, including famous members like Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 (D-Mass.), works with SAC to aid the IOP's full-time staff in making decisions.

"We've noticed that in the past it's been problematic to have the senior advisory committee meeting and have leadership change a week after," Mahoney said.

This year, the need for the SAC leadership to be in place was especially acute, McLain said, because of changes in the structure of the IOP's staff made over the summer.

"IOP has undergone many changes this year, and we wanted to have new leadership at the meeting so that we can continue to move forward and start talking about new ideas," McLain said.

IOP Executive Director Cathy A. McLaughlin says she sees the early election as a positive way to introduce new leadership to some of the new board members.

"Students took it upon themselves to do this so that the chair and the vice chair could meet with new board members, so that everyone would start out at the same time," McLaughlin said. "It gives Hannah and Rich more time to work with the new board."

Both Choi and Cooper have chaired SAC committees for three semesters prior to being elected to their current positions.

"They have been active leadership ever since they got onto the body," Mahoney said.

Choi also plans to expand IOP programming to let students participate more actively in IOP activities.

"Our overall mission is to give associates the most rewarding experience at the IOP," Choi said. "I think the best way to do this is to give them tangible things to do at the IOP."