Tuition increases draw lively debates from Ohio University students every year, but a select few are permitted to voice those debates directly to the university’s decision-making body.
Applications for the two-year student-trustee position must be turned in by 5 p.m. March 5 in the OU Student Senate office, 305 Baker University Center. The applications and information packets can also be picked up in the senate office.
One student trustee is appointed every year to serve a two-year term on the board, serving with nine voting trustees, two national trustees and one alumni representative. Student trustees do not have a vote on the board but are permitted to attend trustees’ executive sessions.
Student trustees are not paid in any way for their work but their accommodations are covered when the board meets away from Athens.
There were four information sessions about the position and the application process in February; the last one took place Feb. 23.
“I think the information sessions went well,” said Student Trustee Danielle Parker, a junior studying public relations who will finish her term this year. “I think it’s not about the number of people, but it’s about the quality of people. I think the turnout was a lot better than last year.”
The two student-trustee positions are staggered so there is always a returning student trustee.
Prior knowledge of the position isn’t necessarily required to apply, Parker said.
“I attended one of the info sessions with a good friend and got really interested in applying for the (student-trustee) position, but before I applied and before I went to that info session, I really didn’t know much about the position,” she said.
Students have picked up between 10 and 12 applications from the senate office, and two had been returned as of Wednesday evening, Student Senate Vice President Roger Jones said.
After the applications are received, they will be reviewed and a Student Senate-formed committee will interview candidates between March 26 and April 9.
That committee will choose five finalists to pass on to OU President Roderick McDavis for review, who will then forward the finalist applications to the Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s office. Kasich will appoint one student to the position of student trustee, according to the application pamphlet.
“My favorite thing about (serving as a student trustee) was just interacting with the other board members and seeing their love for the university,” said Student Senate President Kyle Triplett, a senior studying political science and a former student trustee.“They’re all really great people who are really ingrained in the university’s culture … and that was just really rewarding for me — just seeing the caliber of the people representing the university.”
The student trustee position provides many benefits but also entails significant work, Triplett said.
Student trustees are required to do significant reading and research to keep up to date on the subjects the Board of Trustees addresses, Triplett said.
“There are multiple things that they cover each meeting,” he said. “There was a lot of groundwork that I really didn’t expect.”
bv111010@ohiou.edu
