The Undergraduate Student Government joint diversity committee has a new leader and a new mission.

Town Sen. Rob Michaels was appointed by Senate President Sean Clark to replace Town Sen. Bryan McKinney, who resigned as chair of the senate committee last week.

Michaels, who also selected Town Sen. Mary Falcon to be vice chair, said he is working to set goals for the committee. The first is to determine a definition of diversity, because the university does not currently have one definitive meaning for the term, he said.

He is also contacting a wide range of student groups, including political and religious organizations, those that he said are typically left out of discussions on diversity.

"We're trying to include as many groups as humanly possible," Michaels said.

In April, the committee was formed in a joint session of Senate and Academic Assembly during the Village sit-in in the HUB-Robeson Center, but there had been questions early on about how each branch of the committee would function.

Michaels said he met with D. Josh Troxell, senator for Division of Undergraduate Studies, who heads the assembly's branch of the diversity committee to discuss the direction the committee would take. Michaels said the two branches will meet later this week

Together they decided that it would operate like three committees, separately in its own branches and also as a joint committee, he added.

Town Sen. Brendan Holloway, a committee member, said there is concern that few groups, including Black Caucus, have come to meetings so far.

"We want to get as many groups as possible so we get a true diversity of ideas," Holloway said.

Black Caucus Vice President Takkeem Morgan said he hopes caucus members can work together with the committee.

"Diversity does need to be a concern," Morgan said.

"It needs to be in the top portion of their (USG's) agenda."

Holloway said committee meetings will be open to any senators who wish to attend, as well as to the public.

Any interested groups can contact the USG office for more information.

McKinney's appointment was debated by some earlier this semester, including at a senate meeting during which Village members questioned if his personal beliefs made him an appropriate choice for the position.

He said that none of the negative feedback he received factored into his decision to resign.

"Most of the people that I know were very glad that someone without the liberal prejudice was going to be in charge of such a committee," McKinney said in an e-mail.

"I received also numerous e-mails from students this year that supported my position."

Michaels said he has not faced a reaction similar to what McKinney did when he accepted the position and does not expect it to happen to him.

"I will have no lenience," Michaels said, "I'm not going to allow people to come in and accuse people of being racist."

"It's counterproductive."