Board encourages students to apply for trustee position

The IU board of trustees is seeking a new student trustee to fill an opening beginning July 1, 2005.\nCurrent Student Trustee Erin Haag Breese, an M.D./Ph.D. candidate in the School of Medicine, will be vacating the position June 30. \nAccording to a statement released by the board of trustees, students wishing to apply for the position must submit an application by 5 p.m. Jan. 28, 2005. Any student on IU's eight campuses is eligible. \nThe board of trustees began having a student trustee on Jan. 1, 1976, when Leslie C. Shively was sworn in. The student trustee serves a two-year term, unlike the other trustees, who serve three years. The student trustee also has the same rights and responsibilities as the fellow trustees. \nApplications will be reviewed by the 2005 IU Student Trustee Search and Screen Committee, which is comprised of students from IU's eight campuses. The committee will select finalists and forward 10 names to the governor's office, which will make the final decision on June 30.\nRobin Gress, IU board of trustees secretary, believes the ideal student trustee candidate will be carefully reviewed and then selected by the governor. \n"The governor is looking for somebody who first meets the requirements, which means the candidate must be a full-time student at any of IU's eight campuses and he or she can either be an undergraduate student or a graduate student," she said. "The governor is probably looking for a candidate who is able to listen well, who is able to evaluate different viewpoints, evaluate a lot of information, and who is then able to collaborate with his or her colleagues to make decisions for IU's future."\nGress also said students who are hesitant about applying for the position should definitely apply.\n"This is a terrific opportunity for any student," Gress said. "The student trustee is a fully vested trustee. He or she is one of nine votes and has equal participation in all votes and executive functions."\nSenior Scott Norman, IU Student Association vice president, said he would like to see a student trustee who can toe the line between the students and the University.\n"The student trustee is there for student interests while recognizing the best interests of the University," he said.\nFrederick F. Eichhorn Jr., president of the board, said he encourages students to apply for the position, even though it is an enormous challenge.\n"The lessons that you will learn and practice -- how to listen to others' views, how to analyze data and how to make the tough decisions that every leader must make -- will serve you in good stead forever," Eichhorn said in a statement. \nApplications can be downloaded at www.indiana.edu/~trustees.\n-- Contact staff writer Eric Tash at etash@indiana.edu.