Bucknell Student Government (BSG) has decided to permanently separate the position of Vice President of Finance, currently held by Charlotte Clegg ’17, from its Executive Board to create a new position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) within BSG, beginning January 2016.

The idea, which has been in discussion for months within the BSG Executive Board, was sent out for a vote to the student body on Sept. 24 for a final approval.

On Sept. 25, BSG announced that the vote passed with a large majority. There will be a transition from the current position of VP of Finance to a separate, contractual CFO position to deal solely with the financial commitments of BSG.

BSG President Alex Rosen ’16 is hopeful that the transition will run smoothly and will be beneficial to both  BSG and the entire student body.

Rosen said that the current setup was problematic. The separation of financial operations from the Executive Board seemed to be the logical choice to ameliorate BSG’s internal structure.

“Congress and the Executive Board felt that removing the VP of Finance from the Executive Board and creating a new CFO position as a contractual position would not only bring in highly qualified applicants, but also narrow the range of responsibility of this position to solely financial obligations,” Rosen said.

The necessary changes in the BSG constitution and bylaws for the new position passed with an overwhelming majority during the BSG Congress meeting on Sept. 27.

The hiring process is expected to take place over the next few weeks, with the expectation of selecting a candidate by late October.

The selected CFO will shadow current VP of Finance, Clegg, until the end of the current Executive Board’s term in December. This will allow the new CFO to learn the ropes and operate effectively after taking office in January.

“This is one of the biggest changes that BSG has seen in its internal structure, and we wanted to ensure the transition from a VP of Finance to a CFO would be beneficial not only for BSG, but for the student body as well,” Rosen said.

Regarding these new changes, the student body can expect to see increases in efficiency, communication, and financial responsibility and accountability. BSG members foresee only positive results to follow from  these upcoming changes.