Cameron Vrana, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, was elected Nov. 30 to succeed Marquette Student Government’s Financial Vice President Ted Eberle, a senior in the College of Business Administration.
The search committee for the position was made up of three MUSG senators, two faculty members and one student. It interviewed three applicants before Thanksgiving break and nominated Vrana to be hired. After his election, Vrana will take over Eberle’s position in February 2016.
Vrana said he has three goals for next year: making a student-focused budget, evaluating student organization funding changes and integrating the finance department with the rest of the MUSG community.
Vrana was a member of the MUSG budget committee and will be managing the group’s budget of approximately $500,000.
MUSG President Zack Wallace was on the committee and said Vrana showed dedication and leadership to MUSG and the student body.
“He’s had two large leadership roles on student committees (and) a very strong understanding of the MUSG organization,” Wallace said.
Vrana chairs the Student Life committee and was previously chair of the Business and Administration committee.
“I thought (Vrana) showed leadership outside of the organization, such as working for a credit union,” said Eberle, who was also on the search committee.
Wallace said Vrana cited the four university pillars – excellence, faith, leadership and service – when making a case for himself. He said citing those showed Vrana’s dedication to the university.
One of the SOF changes implemented this year was spot funding, which will allow student organizations to apply for money on a rolling basis. In addition, two bulk funding deadlines are available in the fall and spring semesters, and Vrana said he would like to change those.
“I’m not a fan of the two-period funding for non-club sports,” he said. “I know a lot of student organizations are not either.”
He added that those deadlines require student organizations to plan six months in advance for funding the following semester.
Vrana said he comes into his new position with a different perspective from those who held it previously.
“I’m coming from the (MUSG) senate … versus going out through the finance department,” he said. “I think I have a really good understanding of how students perceive the finance department (and) funding process.”
The senate will elect the new programming vice president next week.
