Jackson Lavelle
Year: Sophomore
Major: History and political science with a Spanish minor and an interdisciplinary certificate from the Global Leadership Center
Hometown: Athens, Ohio
Activities: Student Alumni Board, OU Kennedy Lecture/Frontiers in Science Committee, Student Senate
What do you believe qualifies you the most to serve on the Ohio University Board of Trustees?
Well, first and foremost, I am an Athens area resident and community member; I have lived here my whole life. So, Ohio University has been a part of who I am since I was young, and I think it’s important for a student trustee to have an understanding of the entire university. I know people talk about the student perspective, but I think that the role of a student trustee is way more than just a student. So I think it’s important for students to know the impact it has on the community and then also larger, so just around the state, national and international level. I think that’s one qualification that I think puts me above any other (finalist) for student trustee.
Some other things are that I’m really involved in campus; since last fall, I’ve been involved in Student Senate, Student Alumni Board, involved in my scholarship program — the Cutler Scholars program. And I think it’s also important for a student trustee to have a good feel of the student pulse, of the day-to-day vibe of campus, so I think that’s another important qualification that I have.
And some other major, important qualities for student trustees: I think they have to be really open-minded. You can’t have a student trustee who’s going to have their mind made up on issues because that’s not what the Board of Trustees wants. They need someone who’s going to be able to synthesize their research, their information, and have a student perspective but also be able to recognize that Ohio University is made up of a multitude of people and organizations. So I think open-mindedness is probably another great qualification that I have that would really be great for a student trustee.
What experience do you have, besides being a student, that gives you insight into students’ priorities?
Well I guess the main thing would be involvement on campus. I’m a sophomore, so I’ve lived on-campus for five quarters and I’m now studying abroad in Spain in addition to being involved in multiple student organizations. (One of them is) Student Alumni Board, which has upward of 60 members, which have rotated in for the past few years, so I’ve gotten to know a couple hundred students that way.
With Student Senate, same thing: they do a lot of outreach events so you get to be in contact with students so you’re always talking to new students. I think just being outgoing on campus, whether it’s (being) involved with intramural sports or just getting to know new people, I think that I’ve gone out of my way to meet a lot of people and I hear a lot of opinions and viewpoints around the school.
In addition, (I have) professional events with my scholarship program: I’ve met all the people in that, we work with the Templeton Scholars, we go to lectures and meet a bunch of different students, whether in HTC or any other program at Ohio University. So I think I’ve had a lot of contact with a lot of differing students with different opinions, and I think that will help me as a student trustee.
Are there any recent Ohio University Board of Trustees decisions that you feel strongly about or that you do not agree with?
I think the one thing that I do agree with is their focus on improving their capital improvement and infrastructure plans for Ohio University because I know that it was a problem reported, I know in The Post. They’re saying that maintenance fees per square foot will be $71, which would be really bad for Ohio University.
So I think it’s great that the Board of Trustees is putting infrastructure as a priority, because in the years to come I know Ohio University has to compete with other state institutions. So it’s important that we keep our infrastructure — our buildings — healthy, so that we can compete at a state and national level. I think that’s a great thing that the Board of Trustees is doing.
What issues do you think are most important for the Ohio University Board of Trustees to address?
I know that some of their main things are obviously their capital funding programs, and I know with the recent capital improvement bill handed down from the state, I think that’s something that they obviously work towards and are getting help with.
Just going in the same lines in what I kind of talked about in the first (question), I think a big goal for Ohio University is to build a strong brand; I know that they’ve worked on that. Since growing up here, I can tell in the past few years that they’ve really put forth an effort to create a cohesive brand — whether (it is) being called Ohio University, or just making sure we’re putting on a united front.
So I think that anything the Board of Trustees does, whether (it is) capital improvement projects or just anything on a university-wide basis, I think anything helping to build that strong Ohio University brand — to help reach out to new students, to help engage alumni on campus — I think that’s a major goal of the Ohio University Board of Trustees.
What is your stance on whether student trustees should or should not be given voting rights?
I think that, as it currently stands, student trustees do not have voting rights. And I know that they’re in the works in the state level of legislation to give students voting rights. And, honestly, I think that with or without voting rights I would be an effective student trustee.
So currently, as it stands now they don’t have voting rights. I think that without a voting right, I’d be an effective student trustee because you don’t always need to vote to have your opinions and viewpoints meshed with conversations and debates for Ohio University. So I think that without a vote, I’d be an effective student trustee being able to relay the pulse of the student body, what’s going on on-campus, and interweaving that into what discussions and debates are going on for Ohio University so it can be a better institution, being a better institution from what it already is.
And then, on the other end of the spectrum, I’ve talked with current student trustees, I’ve talked with other people who know the process, and there’s some who think student trustees should not have voting rights because of conflict of interests sometimes, whether (they are) with tuition increases or something that’s really sensitive to the student body.
And I understand that; however, if there were voting rights, I think that I would still be able to be an effective student trustee. I think that with the power of a vote, I would still be able to make an informed and intelligent decision for Ohio University. Like I said earlier, I’m open-minded; I wouldn’t go in with a set agenda or preset beliefs. I would go in and listen to the other trustees, hear what they have to say on an issue, and really do research and make sure that my decision is an informed decision.
So, I personally am not gung-ho either way towards no voting rights or yes voting rights. I think that it’s important that whether there are or aren’t, you have an effective student trustee so that if there are or there aren’t voting rights, they can still do a great job as a student trustee for Ohio University.
In general, what are the main things you would like to accomplish in the student trustee position?
As an Ohio University student, Athens resident, community member, I think the overarching goal that I would want to have as a student trustee is just to continue to make Ohio University better and better from what it already is, so that we continue to be excellent on a state and national scale.
I don’t think it’s the point of a student trustee to kind of go into the board with set objectives and defined goals of what they want to push through or accomplish as a student trustee. I just think that a student trustee has to go in being open-minded with the one goal of making Ohio University better every day. And that would be my main goal.
So, no little small goals that lead up to that, just the overarching theme of making Ohio University better. And I think that because I’m open-minded and willing to synthesize different viewpoints and opinions and develop my own viewpoints based on that and what’s best for Ohio University — I think that’s my main goal: just making Ohio University better and better every day.
