Applications now available for next IU student trustee

A unique leadership opportunity for IU students begins as IU starts the process of finding the next student to serve on the board of trustees.\nThird-year law student and current student trustee Casey B. Cox's two-year term ends this spring, and applications to fill the student representative position are now available.\nAccording to the trustees' Web site, the student trustee holds the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as any other member of the board of trustees -- which is IU's governing board, legal owner and final authority. The selected student trustee must participate in nine board meetings a year, serve on board committees, act in various University engagements and ceremonies and work on any assigned tasks for a two-year term, according to a press release from IU. \nAll trustees receive a $50 daily stipend for each University appointment they attend, including board meetings.\nThe application process is governed by state law, which mandates that a committee comprised of student representatives from each of IU's campuses and a representative from the governor's office review the applications and select 10 individuals who they will pass on to the governor to make the final decision. Attorney James Bopp Jr., who worked on the 2005 IU Student Trustee Search and Screen Committee, will serve as the governor's representative in the 2007 search. \nAlthough 14 of the past 16 student trustees have been graduate students, any full-time student who will remain at IU for the duration of his or her term is eligible for the position. Robin Gress, secretary of the board of trustees, said prior experience in student groups and University organizations is important for a potential student trustee. She added that it is the graduate students that more often have the experience needed.\n"It's not so much about being a graduate student, but what the committee and the governor look for is maturity," Gress said.\nGress said she has worked with the last three or four student trustees and added that each individual has a unique opportunity to shape University policy. She said the student trustee is a full member of the board and past students have always felt valued by other trustee members.\n"I have talked to Casey (Cox), and he has said that he has always been treated with absolute respect from the other board members," she said. \nCox said his responsibilities basically equaled working a full-time job but said the time requirements amount to however much the student wants to put into it. \nIU trustee Sue Talbot said the student trustee acts as a voice for students on the board and at \nvarious forums and meetings with University organizations. She said the student trustee's input is highly valued among the other trustees. \n"All board members have been (a) student of IU at one time, but the student trustee gives us a student prospective that is current," Talbot said. "It's really a privilege for us to have a student on the board."\nTalbot said Cox has been an outstanding student trustee and said his involvement with student government helped him develop relationships with several trustees prior to being selected for his current position. His time as IU Student Association student body president was an excellent opportunity to learn how to collaborate and arrive at informed decisions, Talbot said.\nSince the student trustee is selected through a well-structured search process, each of the past student representatives has been extremely competent, Talbot said. The ability to listen and build relationships with board members are skills she said a student trustee must have. She also said leadership skills and previous participation in University functions as a student leader will help the selected individual make a smooth transition into the trustee role.\n"With so many veteran trustees on the board, it can be quite intimidating for a student to work on the board, so any experience working with trustees and University officials prior to holding the student trustee position would be beneficial," Talbot said. \nGress said she encourages anybody who is interested to apply but also said the trustee position might not be the right opportunity for a student who has not been involved in University affairs in some way in the past. \n"It is an excellent way to learn about the University from a unique perspective," she said. "It is an opportunity to set important policies for the University, and the new student trustee will be coming into office at the same time as the new president of the University, so I think it is a tremendous opportunity."\nCox's term ends when the next elected student begins his or her term July 1, 2007. He said he holds his time as a student trustee in high regard and said it has been the greatest leadership experience of his life.\n"To be in such a position as a student, to participate in such a high level of governance and to help drive the agenda at this institution is very special," he said. \nApplications are available online at www.indiana.edu/~trustees and in the several offices and locations on each of IU's campuses, including the IUSA and board of trustees offices in the Indiana Memorial Union.