24-year-old elected to IU Board of Trustees

As of Saturday, Jamie Belanger, fiscal analyst for the Iams Company, will be the youngest member on the IU Board of Trustees. Belanger will also be the first trustee to serve while living outside of Indiana.\nA 2000 graduate of IU, Belanger was elected by the IU Alumni Association to serve a three-year term.\n"Obviously, people felt like it was time for a little youth and a change," Belanger said.\nBelanger served as the president of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and graduated from IU Bloomington with a bachelor of science in finance from the Kelley School of Business.\nBack in May, Belanger placed the spotlight on the trustee race by accusing supporters of John Nash, who placed second in the elections, of sending out unsolicited mass e-mails. A supporter of Nash, C. Randall Powell, sent out mass e-mails through Powell's address book, a list that Belanger believed was not provided to everyone.\nBelanger fills the vacancy left by former president of the board James Morris.\nBelanger received 7,111 votes out of the 28,308 valid votes that were cast by the alumni. His closest rival, Nash, received 4,996 votes.\nBill Riley, who placed fifth in the election, said he believed Belanger will bring much needed youth to the board.\n"I sent Jamie an e-mail last night congratulating him on his victory," Riley said. "It might be nice to have a little youth on the board."\nBelanger ran most of his campaign platform based on his age and close ties to IU, only being away from the University for two years.\nAccording to Belanger's Web site, "Almost 81 percent of IU alumni are under the age of 55."\nYet only two of the nine current trustees, one being the student representative, are younger than 55."\nRiley said he was disappointed by the voter turnout for the elections, calling the elections "dismal."\nRay Richardson, former member of the board, placed third in the elections and said he agreed the election turnout was less than desirable.\nThe ballots handed out to each alumni provide a 300-word statement from each candidate.\nRichardson said he blamed part of the low voter turnout to very few candidates taking a stand on issues, but rather providing biographical information on the ballots.\nHe also blamed the turnout on the lack of women and minorities running for this year's seat on the board.\nRichardson said he doesn't believe the e-mail controversy had an effect on the outcome of the race, but the board felt they needed a younger perspective.\n"The alumni bought into (Belanger's) idea that there should be some younger trustees," Richardson said. "Jamie obviously knows what's going on better from the school perspective."\nThe normal voter turnout of the more than 435,000 alumni is generally between 32,000 and 34,000, Richardson said.\nVice President Bill Stephan said he and the board are looking forward to working with Belanger.\n"I think the board will welcome his perspective," Stephan said. "I think it provides another opportunity for us to remain close to the students."\nBelanger said he was surprised with the win.\n"Obviously, with a one in eight chance of winning, I don't think you can go in expecting to win, especially against other candidates who were running with exceptional backgrounds," Belanger said. "I can't tell you how fortunate I feel to have been given this opportunity."\nThe Associated Press contributed to this story.