SAC members are chosen by an election of outgoing members of the committee. A planned election in December for next year's group has now been canceled.

Pryor also abolished the Community Action Committee and the Harvard Political Union, two of the IOP's eight student-chaired committees.

He will handpick the chairs of the remaining committees next semester. Future plans for committee election format have not yet been determined, Pryor said.

"We have wonderful students who comprise SAC, and they've given a lot of their time and effort," Pryor said. "But it's now time to broaden its base and encourage participation by a larger and more diverse group of students. I am not blaming this on any one student or students, it just happened this way over the years," Pryor said.

Pryor said he discussed the move with IOP staff members and non-SAC students, faculty, former IOP directors, former SAC members and members of the IOP's Senior Advisory Committee before taking action.

"There was a general consensus that it was time to make a change," he said.

But the decision was made unilaterally and came without warning for the students governing the IOP. SAC members said they were most disturbed that the decision was made without any consultation of members.