The Institute of Politics' (IOP) Student Advisory Committee (SAC) elected Jeffrey P. Yarbro '99 its new chair during an eight-hour meeting on Sunday evening.

William P. Moynahan '99 was elected vice-chair and eight committee chairs were also chosen.

All of the newly-elected officers begin their terms immediately. The terms of the chair and vice-chair last for one year; the terms of all committee chairs last for one semester.

The SAC serves as the IOP's governing board.

"The goal for next year is to make the IOP the hub of political action on campus," Yarbro said last night.

Other newly-elected chairs also expressed satisfaction with the election results.

"We're excited about the new team we have in place," said Moynahan, who is also a Crimson editor. "We're looking forward to some exciting programming, forums, study groups and getting some interesting, energetic IOP fellows."

"I think almost every election was competitive, and we came out with a team that's willing to put in a lot of time next semester," Moynahan added.

Byron J. McLain '00, who was elected as the new Projects Committee chair, said, "I think the IOP elected great leaders. We're optimistic about growing in number next semester."

Outgoing IOP chair Geoffrey C. Rapp '98 said these elections were the most contested in recent memory.

"I've never seen this many people interested in elections in the three years since I've been on the board.... There's definitely a lot of energy," he said.

Outgoing IOP vice-chair Eric P. Christofferson '98 said that there were "an average of three candidates per election."

"I think people were pretty happy with the process," he added. "The Student Advisory Committee as a whole picked the best candidates...there was nothing really negative that came out of the elections. I'm pleased with the way we left things."

Christofferson also said that the eight-hour length is not unusual for IOP elections. "It's not uncommon, they always take a long time," he said.

Yarbro previously served as SAC's Study Groups Committee chair. Moynahan previously served as the Projects Committee chair.

Moynahan, who said that the IOP's mission is to "encourage undergraduates to participate in politics and public service," said that the recent race survey proposed by the IOP and conducted by The Crimson will be a focus in the upcoming semester.

"The IOP intends to continue its involvement with the ongoing race project next semester, and all new officers have expressed support for going forward with that project. We're looking forward to starting a campus-wide debate on that issue," Moynahan said.

According to McLain, "the Projects Committee is going to provide follow-up forums relating to the Crimson's race survey."

Aside from Yarbro, Moynahan and McLain, other chairs elected on Sunday are Harvard Political Union chair Ilyana M. Kuziemko '00, Study Groups Committee chair Curtis J. Mahoney '00, Community Action Committee chair Eugenie A. Lang '00, Internships Committee chair Kent B. McNellie '99, Conferences Committee chair Saloni K. Saraiya '99, Communications Committee chair Masoumeh Tadjedin '99 and Fellows Committee chair William F. Abely '99.

The new Harvard Political Review editor-in-chief, Ilana H. Eisenstein '98, was elected several weeks ago by the magazine's staff