[Alumni-chat] "Student Trustees wanted" (see how other places do it?!?!)

[Laura Fathauer]

At Ohio State; via the OSU Lantern:
http://media.www.thelantern.com/media/storage/paper333/news/2008/01/09/Campus/Student.Trustees.Wanted-3148155.shtml

The Student Trustee Selection Committee is accepting
applications for the graduate and professional student position
on the Ohio State Board of Trustees.

"The student trustees at Ohio State, while they are the only
nonvoting member of the board, are fully involved in all board
meetings including executive session," said David Frantz,
secretary of the board.

There are two student trustees at OSU, one undergraduate student
and one graduate or professional student. They are responsible
for representing the citizens of Ohio and providing a student
perspective to the discussions and decisions at the board level,
said Christopher Alvarez-Breckenridge, the current graduate
student trustee. His term ends in May.

Alvarez-Breckenridge, a medical and doctoral student, said the
student trustees serve two-year terms and are chosen through a
process that begins with a written application and ends with an
appointment by the governor.

The 2008 applications are being accepted from graduate or
professional students who have at least two years left at OSU.

The student trustee positions require a huge time commitment and
applicants must have a strong work ethic, good articulation and
the ability to absorb information quickly, Frantz said. They
also must be willing and able to work on behalf of the
institution to make OSU the best university it can be.

The written application is about five pages long and is reviewed
by the Student Trustee Selection Committee, which is made up of
student government presidents and other appointed students, said
Debra Van Camp, a junior in food science and nutrition and
agribusiness and applied economics and is the current
undergraduate student trustee.

The selection committee interviews 10 to 12 students and then
chooses five applications to be forwarded to the governor's
office, she said. Then, there are more interviews and the
governor's office eventually makes the appointment.

Alvarez-Breckenridge said that although the application process
is long it should not discourage students from applying because
it is a great learning experience in how OSU operates and fits
into the context of the state of Ohio.

Alvarez-Breckenridge said serving as a student trustee has
taught him many valuable lessons he will take with him long
after his term ends.

"It was a tremendously worthwhile experience," he said. "I found
that being on the Board of Trustees (and) the things that you
learn in that setting percolate through not just your position
as a student trustee, but essentially all aspects of your life."

Anyone interested in applying for the student trustee position
should download the application at www.trustees.osu.edu.
Applications are due Jan. 25.

Lindsay Betz can be reached at betz.49 at osu.edu.




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