Student Union President Andy Hogan '11 announced at last Thursday's State of the Union Address that he has been appointed as a nonvoting student member to the Presidential Search Committee by Chair of the Board of Trustees Malcolm Sherman. "I am obviously very happy that [Sherman] and other Board members saw how important it is to include students in the process," Hogan said in an interview with the Justice. He said that Sherman did not state why he was appointed as a nonvoting member.

"I know [Hogan] was selected because he was . a highly visible student leader. We had put a cap on the number of members the Committee would have, and his choice would have added over and above what the Board had approved," Sherman said in an interview with the Justice.

Hogan said that he will provide the PSC with student feedback through the help of the Student Advisory Committee, which was created to facilitate student input in the search process. "One of the good things about [the appointment] is that I think I will be able to push for more engagement of the advisory committee."

Chair of the Faculty Senate Prof. Sabine von Mering (GRALL) also released the names of the eight candidates who have been selected to the Faculty Advisory Committee, which will provide the Presidential Search Committee with faculty feedback, in an e-mail to the faculty last Friday.

The FAC consists of six faculty members from each of the different University departments and two members-at-large. The six faculty members are Profs. Jonathan Unglaub (FA), Robin F. Miller (GRALL), Irving Epstein (CHEM), David Cunningham (SOC) and Allyala Krishna Nandakumar (Heller). Profs. Anita Hill (Heller) and Aida Wong (FA) are the members-at-large. The Committee will elect its own chair, von Mering wrote.

The PSC, FAC and SAC were created after University President Jehuda Reinharz announced his intention to resign in a Sept. 24 campuswide e-mail. Reinharz will remain president until a new president has been selected or until June 30, 2011, according to a Sept. 24 University press release.

"The charge, as it now stands, is still that [the FAC] will advise the search committee about the goals of the search, will review and have input on the position description, and will also be involved in interviewing the finalists," wrote von Mering in her e-mail.

"I'm honored that my colleagues thought that I would be a good person to do this job. I'm a little apprehensive [about] the magnitude of the task. . Choosing the president is a big job. It doesn't happen very often, and I think it's going to take us a great deal of time and good judgment to get a good [president]," Epstein said. He added that the Committee's first meeting may take place within the next 10 days.

The PSC has not yet appointed its ninth trustee member, Sherman said.

Chair of the PSC Meyer Koplow '72 declined to comment on the specifics of last Monday's meeting but said that the Committee is reaching out to faculty, students, donors and alumni. "Listening to the affected constituencies is critical before we actually start moving forward identifying and considering possibilities [for the position of University president]. . [The PSC wants] to make sure that all of the constituencies are heard," Koplow said.