Zach George
Year: Sophomore
Major: Finance and Accounting
Hometown: Lebanon, OH
Activities: Delta Sigma Pi, Student Senate Academic Affairs Commissioner
What do you think is the most important role of the student trustee?
Well honestly, as a more base line answer you can kind of find it more or less online. The typical answer you’re going to get from probably all five of us is you more or less represent the voice the students voice on the board of trustees.
But what does that mean? To me it’s making sure the issues that concern students are really brought to the forefront of board’s attention… you know, with budget cuts, potential tuition increases, um, kind of instability. There’s a lot of questions that need answered and our institution is slowly becoming a battleground for competing interests. So, those voices are often lost.
So, making sure, more or less, those issues that concern students are brought to their attention. But you know, as a trustee, you also have to realize your primary function is to protect this institution along with its interests.
The university has been around for over 200 years. There’s a reason for that, there’s a reason that the institution will be around for another 200 years. That’s because of the decisions, the hard decisions the trustees and the student trustees will accept.
What do you think is going to be the big issue for the next two years?
There’s a few, first is budget cuts and academic quality. Luckily the provost is very good about open forums, getting suggestions about what needs to be done. So you know, this year’s no different from years in the past.
Each of the academic departments has been asked to submit a scenario of a 5 to 10 percent budget decrease; state share of instruction going down this year, this is a likely scenario for 2012 as well. So, that’s definitely one of the big issues.
Another issue that’s not necessarily pertinent to the board but will be brought to their attention is the Q2S transition. We’re kind of at the halfway point until we make that final switch.
So, budget cuts and that probably are the two big ones I’m focusing on.
What do you think you would do well in office?
In terms of qualifications, I am the Academic Affairs Commissioner, I’ve set up some good connections here at the institution, and it’s all about working relationships, working with the governor’s office, working with the state of Ohio, working with faculty and administration, and it’s a collaborative effort, we’re all in this together, students, faculty, administration, at the end of the day, so I think that’s one thing I bring to the table.
There’s a number of things. You walk up to the average person, the average student and they have no idea what a student trustee does. They have no idea that they probably even exist, in all honesty.
So one thing is I want to make them more visible. Last year they were given offices, and I’d like to make those office hours more accessible and more visible to students.
Um, you know student senate, they are the representatives of students…elected representatives, and I think that’s important, you know. And claiming to represent student interests I think it’s a good first stop along the way…kind of collecting thoughts and ideas.
What is your position on student trustee voting rights?
Honestly I take a more neutral stance, I can see people would be for or against it.
Honestly I think that the senior trustees, the vice chair and the chair and all the older board members probably truly have a better grasp on what’s going on in this institution because they serve longer terms.
So, I’m kind of on the fence with that. Once again I can see the validity of it, for and against.
Should the Budget Planning Council meetings be open to the public?
In terms of the Budget Planning Council, I think one of the debates on it is kind of the fact that it‘s been closed to the public.
And I think there’s reasons for that, there’s reasons against that, you hear the idea of free speech, that it should be open at least to the press, and the faculty and students, that supposedly the issue, but the thing we’ve got to understand, we’ve said it time and time again, is public institutions especially in Ohio where the state share of instruction being slashed, are becoming battlegrounds for competing interests, and honestly within those closed doors, I think some of the worst case scenarios are thrown out on the table just to see how case A and B could be brought forth, and I think having those closed, you kind of reduce the occurrence of panic.
So I think it’s a good thing, everything and every option needs to be explored. I think by closing or having it closed will do much more good than, say an open forum.
