Nathan Payne, former assistant director of student activities, left his position Friday.

Payne has worked at the university for the past four years and served as the adviser to Greek Life and the Activities Programming Board.

Payne said he accepted a new position working for McGraw Hill, an education publishing company.

Payne said he will work with faculty members on college campuses in his new position.

“It’s a remote role. So I’ll still be here coming to all the things. You’ll see me around,” he said.

Students on campus said they will miss Payne. 

“I’ve grown a lot with Nathan this semester, working with him on IFC and stuff like that,” said Pierce Howard, senior political science major. “I see him as someone who’s like a friend and I can confide in and like somebody who I trust to give me sound advice whenever I need it. So it is unfortunate that he’s leaving, but I am very happy for him. He’s found a great job, and I think he’s gonna do well in his new position.”

“We are really sad to see him go, honestly. He was the backbone of APB,” said Tobi Clark, senior communications major. “He did a lot for us. He was our adviser, so he kind of just kept us all together. He was kind of our rock. So yeah, we’re really sad to see him go.”

Matt Hanks will take over Payne’s position as the adviser for Greek Life later in the month. There is not currently a successor for Payne’s former position as APB adviser as of the writing of this story. However, USI is actively searching for a replacement. 

“If people are going to pay for it, then they need to know the full capabilities of it,” Payne said.

Payne said his advice for his successors was to be authentic to their students.

“People see through, I say more of the students, but it’s true about anyone. People see through inauthenticity,” Payne said. “So if you’re being inauthentic, if you’re saying one thing but doing another, people see that. No one wants to work with someone who does that.”

Payne said he is confident his students will be able to continue on without him there.

“They were always great before me,” he said. “They will always be great after me. All I did was help them see it and put it into words. I know for a fact every person that I interact with is a phenomenal, just human in their core.”

“It’s a bittersweet decision,” he said. “I’ll always look back at my time in USI, and the number one thing I’ll think about is the students. You have plenty of memories, you have plenty of things that just made a huge impact and whether you realize it or not, it’s something great.”