Vacancy – Residence Hall Association (RHA)

Executive Order 24-04: Fall Event Planning Committee Creation

By the powers vested in me by RHA’s Governing Documents, I hereby create a committee with the following attributes:

Name – Fall Event Planning Committee

Committee Chair – Parker Green

Members – Amanda Bock, Samuel Eichner, Jessica Keith, Avalyn Mullikin, and whoever takes over as Director of Programming

Purpose – In order to properly transition to and train a new Director of Programming, the Executive Board is taking over Fall Event Planning, as these events have already been planned and have begun to be executed.

Duration – This committee shall exist from the time I am sworn in until the end of the Fall semester.

Powers – As Interim Director of Programming, I grant my powers to this committee. This means that I grant my responsibilities and choices that come from those responsibilities. As Chair, I will remain as the PPR for any choices made by the committee, but I will not wholly be the decision-maker. Once a time in which there exists a Director of Programming, they will retain the choice to grant their powers to the committee, but these powers are only those that are applicable for the Fall Semester. In such a time in which the new DOP grants those powers, I will still remain as the PPR for the Fall Events.

Respectfully signed,

Parker H Green, 2023-2024 Executive President & Interim Director of Programming

Join the ’24 Executive Cabinet!

RHA is currently looking for Executive Cabinet members!

If you are passionate about helping to make life at Tech better, we’d love to have you join our team! We have three openings:

Visual Media Manager
Resource Room Manager
Auditor

All positions receive financial compensation!

To learn more about the positions or to apply, click here or the button below.

Please note that these positions are not available to first-year students. Executive Cabinet members must maintain campus residency throughout their appointment.

Apply Now!

📢All new RHA! (& How You Can Get Involved)

‼ We’re hiring! Paid leadership positions! 💵

RHA is currently filling out it’s Executive Cabinet. It’s an awesome opportunity to get involved in the second largest student organization on this campus, make a huge contribution to it’s operation, and get paid to do so!

The application opens Friday, September 16th and closes a week later on September 23rd at 11:59pm. Look to the bottom of this article for more information and a link to the application.

This year, the fundamental structure of RHA looks quite a bit different than it has in the past. These differences include: a scaled-down Executive Cabinet, a suspended Judicial Branch, a repurposed Legislative Council, and Hall Councils that are totally new.

Why the Restructure?

At the direction of the Department of Housing and Residence Life (HRL) (which funds, provides professional staff for, and generally supports RHA), RHA is undergoing a process of strategic planning and evaluation to determine the course of RHA over the next 5-10 years. During this process, RHA will accomplish the following:

Evaluate the role of RHA on Georgia Tech’s Campus
Identify how RHA can best serve residents
Evaluate the current structure of the organization and Hall/Area Councils
Evaluate how RHA supports the mission of the Department of Housing and Residence Life (HRL)
Evaluate the roles/membership of RHA

In order to make room for the work required to meet such goals, the responsibilities of the RHA Executive Board have been rebalanced. Operations such as Legislative Council, Area/Hall Council involvements, and some Executive Cabinet positions are taking a back-seat this year.

❓ What does this mean for Legislative Council?

RHA’s Legislative Council (LC) has been scaled back this year in order to assess the structure and purpose of it’s operation. LC will meet on a monthly basis (as opposed to the typical weekly meetings) to discuss governance, provide leadership/bonding experience to it’s representatives, provide a forum for resident concerns to be voiced, and for elections of the RHA Executive Board in the spring. The funding typically allocated to LC has instead been allocated to programs facilitated through Resident Assistants, Hall Directors, and Area Councils. At this time, RHA does not offer any funding to student organizations providing programs for residents.

RHA still wants to do everything it can to support the many student organizations that provide community, support networks, and social engagement to our residents. Right now, RHA’s Resource Room houses over 100 distinct items designed to be used to host events big and small. This is open to the entire Georgia Tech community completely for free. Click the “Resource Room” button on the navigation bar to access our Resource Room reservations page (or click here).

Hall Councils ➡ Area Councils

In the past, RHA has facilitated over 17 (but typically closer to 20) Hall Councils. While this was often a greatly successful operation, it was not without fault. Facilitating this many Hall Councils meant that Hall Directors (of which typically have anywhere from 12-20 on campus) who served as Advisors would often be stretched thin between their regular duties and the efforts required to facilitate Hall Councils and mentor Hall Council Officers. Additionally, the burden placed on the 6-person RHA Executive Board to facilitate/maintain financial and operational infrastructure, train Hall Council Officers, and more meant that less time and energy could be given to each Hall Council.

This year, RHA is very excited by the move to a consolidated model! We are currently operating at 6 Area Councils (we don’t love the name, but it fits) which you can read more about by clicking the Area Councils tab above. There are a few advantages of this system:

Even with the industry-wide shortage of Hall Directors, this consolidated model allows us to sustainably facilitate fund allocation and community building
Under this model, not all Hall Directors are required to assist with Area Councils while the ones who do are assigned Area Council as their collateral assignment meaning the expectation is that they are investing more time/energy into Area Councils than previous models where they had other collateral assignments in addition to advising Hall Councils
RHA Executive Board members are able to invest more time into strategic planning while also providing all the same infrastructure and advising to Area Councils

🏡How you can get involved:

Looking to get involved in the second largest student organization at Georgia Tech? Well, its not too late to join in!

Area Council Vacancies

Please take a look at our Area Councils page and find your Area Council. If you live on East Campus, there is likely a position open that you can apply for! Just open up your Area Council’s dropdown and look for positions marked “‼Vacant”. We look forward to seeing you make a difference in your community.

Executive Cabinet

RHA is currently hiring Executive Cabinet members, and we’d love to have you join our team. We have three openings:

Visual Media Manager
Resource Room Manager
Auditor

All positions are compensated between $750 and $1100 per semester. You can learn more about each position, RHA, and our Executive Cabinet in the Job Descriptions PDF. Note that these positions are not open to incoming first-year students.

Applications for the Executive Cabinet will be live through Friday, September 23rd, and an interview period will follow applications. A full timeline, along with more information, can be found in the Executive Cabinet application, here.

Hall Council Officer (HCO) Vacancy Applications

✋ The Vacancy Application Period Has Closed

The HCO vacancy application period closed on Thursday, September 2 at 11:59pm. Looking for up-to-date information regarding Hall Council Officer positions and openings in your community? Check out our Hall Councils page.

Introduction

On Sunday, August 29, the primary round of Hall Council Officer (HCO) applications closed. While we received over 60 applications from residents across campus, some communities received no applications for select HCO positions. We are now conducting a second round of applications, and we need YOUR help to fill vacancies across campus. Below, you’ll find information about our current vacancies and the abbreviated timeline for this second round of applications.

Submit a Vacancy Application!

Want to learn more about RHA, Hall Council, HCO positions, and the HCO elections/application process? Check out this previous HCO elections news post to watch an informational video about Hall Council, learn more about the format of the application, campaigning rules, and more. Do note that, while the majority of the content on the previous HCO elections news post is still accurate, some information—such as dates, timelines, and positions available—now differs as we’re in the vacancy filling stage of our application process. Refer to the previous HCO elections news post for general information about being an HCO, but use the information here to determine what positions are still available for you to run for and when you need to submit your HCO vacancy application by.

Available Vacant Positions

Bobby Dodd [BRN, HRS, SMT]: None
Brittain [HOW, HRN, CLD]: Finance Coordinator
Burger Bowl [FIT, FRE, MON]: Finance Coordinator
Commander [HEF, ARM, FUL]: None
Eighth Street [ESS, ESE, ESW]: Communications, Finance, and Events Coordinators
Glenn [GLN]: None
Grad & Family [GLC and Tenth & Home]: Events Coordinator
Hemphill [CRE, CSN, CSS]: Meetings and Communications Coordinators
Nelson Shell [NSL]: Finance and Events Coordinators
North Avenue East [NAE]: Meetings, Communications, and Finance Coordinators
North Avenue North and West [NAN, NAW]: Meetings and Event Coordinators
North Avenue South [NAS]: Meetings, Communications, and Finance Coordinators
Stamps [ZBR, MLD]: Meetings and Communications Coordinators
Techwood [TOW, GRY, HAY, GLD, STN]: Communications Coordinators
Third Street [PER, MTH, FLD, HOP, HAN]: Events Coordinators
West Village [FLK, CAL]: None
Woodruff [WDS, WDN]: None

The other Hall Council Officer position(s) not listed above did receive applications and will either be voted on or announced as appointments on Friday evening.

Timeline

Thursday, September 2nd, 11:59PM EDT: application deadline
Friday, September 3, 5PM EDT – Sunday, September 5, 5PM EDT: voting
Monday, September 6, 10AM EDT: election results are released, at the latest

Executive Order 22-02: Interim DOP Appointment

Last Monday, I announced the resignation of RHA’s elected Director of Programming and explained the need for an emergency application and appointment process to fill the new vacancy. I’m excited to announce that the first round of the search process—an internal search—yielded four qualified applicants for the position. Following careful consideration of each candidate’s application, resume, qualifications, commitments, and energy for the position, I’m pleased to announce that a further search is not needed and Gabe Gauderman will serve as RHA’s Interim Director of Programming, effective immediately, until the first Legislative Council session of the Fall 2021 semester.

Gabe has previously served with RHA as a Hall Council Officer in the Third Street community during the 2020 – 2021 academic year and has a demonstrated history of achievement and excellence in the residential landscape. The recipient of this past year’s Meetings Coordinator of the Year award and leader of the Hall Council of the Year, Gabe has engaged in nearly every facet of RHA and contributed immensely to developing the residential student experience in his community. Both outside and inside RHA, he planned 18 events during his first year at Georgia Tech and has worked first-hand with RHA’s Permanent Improvement process, which the Director of Programming currently oversees. Gabe understands the scope of the organization and, I’m confident, will be able to meaningfully contribute to not just his roles and responsibilities as Director of Programming but also the larger development and success of the organization. A great resource for running successful and engaging meetings, planning events, building community, advertising initiatives, engaging residents in submitting bills and attending Hall Council, pursuing large-scale projects for his residence halls, and collaborating with diverse groups across campus, Gabe Gauderman will be a great addition to our team.

When it comes time to do so, I hope that the Legislative Branch will support this decision emphatically. I’ve made this decision with the support and advice of the rest of the Executive Board and believe that this is the best decision for the protection and successful operation of the organization.

Respectfully signed,

Bryan M. Gomez, 2021-2022 Executive President

Executive Order 22-01: DOP Vacancy and Appointment Process

On April 26, 2021, RHA’s elected Director of Programming (DOP), Maria Costa, amicably resigned from her position for personal and medical reasons. Because RHA’s Legislative Council is not currently in session—and won’t be until Fall 2021—and per Article VIII, Section C of the organization’s Constitution, I, as the Executive President of the organization, have the authority to appoint an eligible candidate as an interim officer to fill the vacancy of the Director of Programming position.

Until an interim is appointed, I shall fulfill all duties and responsibilities of the position. Once an interim is appointed, they will remain in the position until the first Legislative Council meeting of the Fall 2021 semester, which is tentatively scheduled for September 2021, during which elections for the position will be held and the Legislative Council will formally elect a successor to the position. It is my intent to appoint an interim who fully plans on and will commit to serving in the elected Director of Programming position for the entire 2021-2022 term, in addition to their role as an interim DOP.

Although, come Fall, the Legislative Council will formally and constitutionally have the right to elect a new successor to the position—different from the interim officer appointed—I strongly recommend and encourage that the Legislative Council treat the election as a confirmation, formally electing the candidate who was appointed as an interim and not another candidate who may run for the position. The situation that is before us—of a vacancy that must be filled by appointment while Legislative Council is out of session for at least four months—is unprecedented, and the organization will benefit from as little turnover as possible. Over the next four months, the interim Director of Programming that I appoint will receive comprehensive training, contribute hundreds of hours to the organization, and begin planning campus-wide programming for the entire 2021-2022 academic year. By the time elections are held in Fall 2021, it is my belief that there will be no better candidate for the position than the interim officer that has been appointed.

To fill the vacancy for the Director of Programming position, I will conduct an internal search for a successor candidate starting Monday, April 26, 2021. This internal search will last no longer than a week; if, after one week, an internal search has not yielded an adequate interim, I will begin an external, resident-wide search for a successor starting Monday, May 3. This external search is to last, at most, two weeks. If, by Monday, May 17, an adequate successor has not been identified, the search for an interim will be called off, and the position will remain vacant until further notice, with the Executive President fulfilling all duties and responsibilities of the position until election proceedings can resume, per the normal methods, once Legislative Council is back in session.

Respectfully signed,

Bryan M. Gomez, 2021-2022 Executive President