Last Thursday the Marquette Student Government voted 22-2, with one abstention, to approve Matt Robinson as the Program Vice President for the 2007-'08 school year.

The MUSG Program Vice President is the head of the MUSG program committee, which is in charge of various programming including Night of Chocolate, Winter Flurry, movie selections at the Varsity Theatre and Late Night Marquette programs.

Robinson, a College of Health Sciences junior, has had no previous experience with MUSG but served as the Orientation Student Coordinator where he led a team of volunteers in programming the orientation week for freshmen.

According to MUSG President Dan Calandriello, a College of Business Administration senior, Robinson was unanimously chosen by the selection committee because of his "experience at Marquette and how he was basically in charge of last year's very successful freshman orientation week."

The current MUSG Programs Vice President Steve Ryan, a College of Arts & Sciences junior, will continue to sit on the MUSG Executive Board and serve as the Program Vice President for the remainder of the school year, but admitted he felt a "sigh of relief" after hearing his successor was chosen.

"I know it will be hard for me to leave this position, but it is my hope that I have left a mark upon MUSG programs and brought them to a new level this past year," Ryan said. "I am excited to work with Matt this semester and transition him into the office and prepare him as best as possible to tackle the position on his own."

The Program Vice President holds one of the most highly criticized jobs on MUSG, as it is the position that is largely responsible for planning MUSG-sponsored events. Ryan said he does not mind the criticism.

"Constructive criticism is always appreciated," he said. "If a program does not go well, it is important for the Program Vice President to keep the spirits high of the commissioners so they continue to program more and more. And, when events do go well it is important to look at those events and see why they went well and how to best use those techniques for other events."

The criticism is a "good thing," according to Robinson because it drives change and improvement.

"One of my goals is to try and be as creative as possible and to get campus excited about the events we put on," Robinson said. "We will definitely be looking for input from the student body so that we can cater as best as possible to them."

Robinson said it was his "love for the Marquette community," as well as his "drive to make Marquette a better place for myself and all students" that inspired him to apply for the position.

"I feel very excited, but also very grateful to have this opportunity to serve with MUSG, he said. "I think this experience is going to be great for me and whoever else is involved and I can't wait to get started and learn as much as I can from Steve."