Junior Jay Kennedy, Duke Student Government vice president for facilities and environment, is resigning from his position.
Kennedy was elected this past April after running unopposed.
He declined to comment on the nature of his resignation in an interview, saying he plans to release a statement later this week to “clarify most of the details” of his decision.
Kennedy released a short statement in a DSG press release Sunday evening, stating that due to many other obligations he did not want to slow the efficacy of DSG.
“It is important to me that students’ voices are heard as the campus undergoes such large changes, and there are students more able than me to make sure that our needs are recognized by the administration," Kennedy said in the release.
In order to fill the vacant position, DSG President Stefani Jones said that applications will be made available to the student body. She will personally interview the strongest applicants on a rolling basis before selecting a nominee, who will have to be confirmed by a DSG Senate majority before assuming the position.
This process is outlined in the DSG Constitution. A student body-wide election to fill a vacant vice presidency is not the specified procedure, Jones said, nor is it in the interest of filling the position quickly or producing a large turnout of student voters.
"It's definitely going to require some extra legwork, but it will give us a vice president [of facilities and environment] who is really qualified and able to fully commit to the job," Jones said.
Kennedy's resignation will take effect on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at the DSG Senate meeting. Jones will present the nominee for his position at that time.
Jones emphasized that serving in DSG, especially as a vice president, is a major time commitment and that aspect is emphasized to all those who decide to run for a position.
"Representing students in DSG is something that should be taken very seriously," she said.
The resignation of a vice president, she said, is a rare occurrence and has not happened in recent memory, nor does she expect it to happen again soon. Jones called Kennedy's decision "an individual situation" because of his specific concerns about being able to attend DSG meetings in addition to his other commitments.
"[We tried to] work out a resolution but he came to a conclusion that it would be too hard to manage all of it," Jones said. "It was best for DSG."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.