Marquette Student Government chose an insider for the last of its executive board appointments at Thursday's Senate meeting, re-appointing College of Business Administration junior Nicole Garland to the position of communication vice president.

Garland was unanimously approved for the position by the Senate. There was one other applicant for the position. Both applicants were interviewed by a selection committee, which included MUSG President Tim Lefeber, former President Kate Agnew, a student advocate and the MUSG adviser, Jon Dooley.

The committee is supposed to include the former communication vice president, but since Garland was re-applying for the job she said she chose not to sit on the committee. Junior Daniel LaNuez, financial vice president, replaced her.

LaNuez said he was selected to sit on the committee by former MUSG President Kate Agnew and the MUSG adviser because he has been on the current executive board the longest.

MUSG's constitution neither specifically forbids nor permits the same student to hold the same position multiple times. Article VI, Section 4 of the group's constitution states "The Communication Vice President shall take office on April 15 and shall serve for one calendar year."

Mark McCarthy, assistant vice president and dean of the Office of Student Development, is a former adviser to MUSG. He said it is "atypical" for a student to hold the same executive board position for two consecutive years.

There have been students who served as assistants or vice presidents in the communication, financial, legislative and program departments and then have moved on to serve as president or executive vice president, McCarthy said. But he said he couldn't think of an example where a student served two terms in the same position.

Garland was a multimedia director for MUSG her sophomore year before serving as communications vice president, and said her biggest accomplishment was overhauling the MUSG Web site.

"It was ugly and basically non-existent before," she said. "It has become much more user-friendly and informative."

Garland said her first term was characterized by small efforts contributing to an overall success.

She credited senior Katy Marescalco, the art director, for leading the communication department and introducing color to their graphic design productions.

Garland also recognized junior Suzy Finn, public relations director, for leading the development of an MUSG newsletter, the MUSG Syndicate.

"Overall, I think this year we have strengthened a communication link with the students," Garland said. "We have raised the profile of MUSG by stimulating more awareness."

She said a drawback this year was trying to maintain the MUSG Web site.

"It was difficult to find a qualified, dedicated and motivated person to take on the task of coordinating the updates," Garland said.

Beside improving Web site maintenance, Garland said her other goals include starting an MUSG e-mail list, finding new ways to promote events, reaching off-campus students with publicity, continuing publication of the MUSG Syndicate and improving internal MUSG communication though use of a blog or central posting area.

Being a returning executive board member holds both benefits and drawbacks, according to Garland.

"A big benefit is that the learning curve is already established," she said. "It will also be easier to train the new staff.

"MUSG's communication department is essentially all fresh faces, so having a leader who is already familiar with the reins will help them get in gear quickly."

"It will be a challenge to avoid saying, 'Well, last year we did this,'" she said. "Providing insight from years previous is helpful, but it's more important to look at what you can do with the existing team around you."

Garland said she didn't believe she was chosen because she previously served as communication vice president.

"I think the committee made the best choice," she said. "I think the committee chose me because I provided better answers to the questions they posed."

LaNuez said the committee was impressed with Garland's interview not only because she answered the questions well, but she also found room for improvement in last year's work.