Board of Trustees opens student member search

The IU Board of Trustees has begun its search for the next student trustee.

Applications for the position are now available online and are due Jan. 28, 2011.

All full-time undergraduate or graduate students of all eight IU campuses can apply.

The student trustee is an authorized member of the board with the rights, privileges and responsibility as any other member — the only difference being the student trustee only serves two years, while all other trustees serve three.

“You are not treated as a student. You are treated as a member of the board of trustees,” said current student trustee and graduate student Abbey Stemler.

Stemler said she, along with the board, will be looking for a candidate who has a passion for higher education and knows its purpose in society.

“Deep knowledge of the University, strong willingness to learn about stuff you don’t know about, great time management skills,” Stemler said. “Maturity is a must.”

Chairman of the Board William Cast said he encourages students who feel they can contribute to the board of trustee process to apply.

“It is an honor, but it is also a learning experience and often a rigorous one,” Cast said.

The student trustee, Cast said, will need to take the required time to read, research and become engaged in working with the board.

“It requires that the student trustee understand the problems of the University — legal, financial, academic and social,” Cast said. “The student trustee must represent the current needs and views of students.”

The board of trustees is a nine-member organization that approves building plans, sets tuition and cites salaries, among other things.

“Thinking deeply about all the issues that affect students and faculty, and the way the University is going for years to come,” Stemler said. “It’s the general, overall, big picture direction of the University.”

The committee will interview selected finalists in April 2011.

After, the 2011 IU Student Trustee Search and Screen Committee — chaired by Stemler — will forward 10 candidate names to Governor Mitch Daniels to make the final selection.

Stemler said in 2009 there were about 25 applicants, but she urges students to apply for the job this year to help that number increase.

“It’s an incredible opportunity and really an honor,” she said.