A new Student Fee Committee chair was elected into the Associated Students of Portland State on Friday. Alexandra Calloway-Nation replaced Devon Backstrom, following his resignation.
Calloway-Nation’s occupancy of the SFC Chair position vacates a commitee member seat. ASPSU is currently accepting applications for the SFC position, in addition to applications for a student senate position.
The SFC chair acts as an intermediate in a set of areas.
“The chair is also the official spokesperson on the SFC, and in the role they may speak to organizations such as Student Media or with administrators on behalf of the committee,” explained Krystine McCants, ASPSU chief of staff via email.
“My understanding is that [Backstrom] agreed to facilitate a new election process, which he intended to participate in, to elect a chair on a permanent basis,” McCants said.
McCants expects the transition to Calloway-Nation as committee chair to go smoothly.
“I am working closely to onboard [Calloway-Nation] quickly, and to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible from the perspective of anyone who is interacting with the SFC,” McCants said.
“[Calloway-Nation] seems extremely capable and responsive, and I expect that she will bring that approach to the committee,” McCants added.
The SFC is responsible for recommending the allocation of the student fee to the ASPSU president, university president and the new PSU Board of Trustees.
SFC budget hearings began on Oct. 20. Initial deliberations are scheduled for Oct. 25–Nov. 30 and the SFC is expected to bring its final incidental fee recommendation to the PSU Board of Trustees by Feb. 12.
