Macalester College Student Government (MCSG) will hold an election for the position of Academic Affairs Commission (AAC) chair on Oct. 21. The filing period for the position ends Oct. 20.

The previous AAC chair, Colleen Stockmann ’05, resigned from the position earlier this month. She said that the position was too demanding for her to manage along with her schoolwork.

The Academic Affairs Commission chair has duties related to student input on matters such as department changes and tenure issues. The person in this position also oversees the process of student representation in academic departments.

Responsibilities include attending regular MCSG meetings on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. as well as the MCSG Executive Board meetings.

The AAC chair is also one of the student representatives on the Educational Policy and Governance committee (EPAG). EPAG oversees all curricular decisions and personnel allocations requests.

Stockmann said that serving on EPAG was in itself an overwhelming responsibility, and that faculty members were not always interested in hearing student input.

“Some faculty are more interested in hearing from students than others,” she said.

As a liaison between the administration and student body, the AAC chair works with department representatives as well as with those departments that currently do not have a student representative.

Head of an internal committee of four to five MCSG members, the AAC chair also works closely with MCSG executives and faculty members.

MCSG does not expect AAC candidates to be current members of MCSG. While the position requires no experience, MCSG Vice President Damion Rhudd said the position does require a large amount of commitment and dedication.

“The AAC chair is usually someone who has a vested interest in the college and wants to effect positive change,” Rhudd said.

Last year’s AAC chair Cate McDonough ’05 and her committee devised the faculty-approved currentmodel of student representation in academic departments. The model was put into effect in response to students requests for more input in the tenure process. “Without an AAC chair, it would be difficult to make this effective,” MCSG President Simone King said.

Rhudd and King say they hope for the chair to look at long-term changes and focus on what he or she deems most important.

Stockmann said the AAC Chair is one of the most important positions on the Executive Board.