Josh Barta
jbarta@uwyo.edu
UW senior Brian Schueler finalized his run as ASUW president Tuesday by passing on the baton to new ASUW President Michael Rotellini during the inauguration.
“This was a great year,” Schueler said after the inauguration. “We have a lot of people who work really hard, and I probably got to take a greater share of the credit than I should have.”
Rotellini and running mate Tyler Wolfgang pulled out a win over Tyler Julian and Donatellia Austin by a slim margin of 61 votes. The results were announced April 20 on ASUW’s Facebook page.
“I believe Michael and Tyler are really going to be able to make a difference,” Schueler said. “They are going to have probably the most memorable year of their lives.”
Rotellini, who shadowed Schueler last week, is excited to begin his presidency and understands the size of the shoes to be filled.
“The first priority I have entering office is making sure to familiarize myself with the job and talking to people within the ASUW Staff and Administration,” Rotellini said. “My goal is to learn as much as I can to help advocate for the students.”
As of March, the University of Wyoming has began auditing multiple departments in preparation for budget cuts. Vice President for Administration Bill Mai said budget cuts could come close to $14 million.
ASUW acknowledges the strain these budget cuts create, but plans to conduct business as usual next year anyway, Rotellini said.
“Michael and I have been working on transitioning,” Schueler said. “I have been trying to get him up-to-speed on going from him having to be concerned with a million-dollar budget as a senator to having to be concerned with a $600 million budget as president.”
Budget aside, Rotellini’s first priority is finding the right candidates for the executive branch.
“One of the first priorities we need to focus on is filling the executive branch,” Rotellini said. “Once we get that lined up we can start moving ahead on this upcoming year and the goals we want to set for this administration.”
Following the Inauguration, ASUW senators will be appointed to their committees in the next week. Each committee will hold a vote on committee chair in the Fall.
There will be 30 senators meeting every Tuesday next semester. They will be representing their respective colleges.
“Its always good to see first year senators and their growth in the Senate over the year and to see the mix of veteran senators to new senators,” Rotellini said. “I think it will be a great group heading into the new year.”
