The newly elected members of the Undergraduate Student Government met for their first meeting Monday night to elect committee chairs.

Senators sought positions for chairs of the academic affairs, auxiliary affairs, internal affairs and student affairs committees.

Student government members running for a chair position appealed to their colleagues about why they were best qualified. After the senators voted for each individual chair, the new chair-elects were sworn in by USG Speaker Katie Post.

Of the four chair positions sought, three were unopposed.

USG President Alex Solis congratulated the new positions and welcomed everyone to a new term.

“Welcome to the new senators who are a part of USG, welcome to returning senators,” Solis said during his executive report.

USG will have one more meeting this semester this coming Monday. There will be a summer government for available members, and the full USG will resume next fall.

Philanthropy and giving was also a topic of discussion at the meeting, as Theresa Popp Braun, chair of the Foundation at the University and Ryan Sowers, a junior and chair of the Student Legacy Campaign, spoke to USG.

The Foundation is a non-profit and tax-exempt organization in charge of allocating private donations to the University.

“We exist solely for the reason of helping the BGSU community obtain private gifts,” Popp Braun said.

The Foundation distributed $9.5 million in 2012, with colleges and departments receiving 46 percent of the support.

In 1980, 98 percent of the University’s funding came from the state. Since state funding is now 22 percent of support, it is even more important to get private donations.

“Private giving is so critical to the future of this University so the Foundation will continue to do what we can do to make sure that happens,” Popp Braun said.

The Foundation also partially funds the Student Legacy Campaign, which focuses on student giving, Sowers said.

“We want students to become educated on the importance of giving,” Sowers said.

The campaign, which is the first “student-centered and student-led capital campaign,” has the long-term goal of raising money to build a campus gateway. Once the Administration Building is demolished, the gateway will take its place.

The campaign’s next event is April 25, where they will celebrate “pay it forward day” by handing out gifts in the Oval.

Academic Affairs Chair- Jeff Deveraux

Auxiliary Affairs Chair- John Clevenger

Internal Affairs Chair- Eric Juzkiw

Student Affairs Chair- Nic Puccio