In a near unanimous vote Wednesday night, representatives of the Vanderbilt Student Government House and Senate voted to approve President Wyatt Smith’s move to install Fabiani Duarte as chief of staff to replace the departing Sean Topping.

The senate voted 8-1 to pass a resolution appointing Duarte, with Engineering Council President Lauren Nichols giving the only dissenting vote, while the House voted 22-0 in favor.

“Following Sean’s successful ascension to (VUcept president), I began consulting the members of the executive board for who in our team was best to lead us through this transition,” Smith said. “It was a very clear choice from those conversations who the best man was for the job, and I was honored that he accepted the position.”

Duarte, who will continue to serve as organizational relations co-chairman, said he didn’t expect to receive the nod from Smith for the vacant position.

“It was a surprise. I did not see this coming at all,” he said. “When (Smith and I) sat down and talked, at first I said, ‘I don’t need this position.’ But after a lot of prayer and talking with my family, and people who trust and care about me, I knew this would be an easy fit.”

Duarte’s plans for his tenure in the chief of staff role are focused on closing out many of the projects in progress.

“We feel that now it is our opportunity to put the cherry on top of the work that we’ve done,” Duarte said. “We have a lot of initiatives that need that last chapter to be written. We’ll need an all hands on deck-type team. Right now, what Wyatt and I have been focused on is not just developing leadership in our organization, but also ensuring that we have leaders who will lead our campus.”

The move brings Duarte closer to Smith, his opponent in January’s presidential race. Duarte insisted that no animosity exists.

“We have transitioned from the point of friendly rivals to really strong partners,” he said. “I promised Wyatt that we would work to become even closer friends than we are. We’re going to make sure that conversation is alive, that initiatives are followed, and we work together like the strong team that we are.”

The VSG chief of staff, according to Smith, acts as a “right-hand man for the president.”
“The chief of staff serves as an adviser and as an extension of the president’s wishes across campus,” he said. “The person should be someone who is able to act as an internal barometer for the organization.”

And Smith said he wanted "someone to provide continuity and leadership," which made Duarte the "natural choice with his broad range of partnerships and extensive knowledge of university issues."

“I can’t express how happy I am to end our term with (Duarte) as a member of our executive board,” said VSG Vice President Lori Murphy as she and Smith presented the resolution, “because he’s been so incredibly supportive and has done a great job of driving initiatives.”

In delivering his resignation to the board, Topping explained why he chose to leave VSG and focus efforts on his newly appointed role as president of VUcept, after serving as a member of both groups’ executive boards.

“As time went on, I knew that I would have to choose one,” he said. “I am pursuing the route that will allow me to make the most profound impact on the Vanderbilt community.”
Smith said he encouraged Topping to apply for the VUcept presidency and was supportive throughout the process.

"I was very pleased when my chief of staff was given the opportunity to advance in a leadership position as president of VUcept,” he said. “It's a natural fit for him."