The process for electing a new student trustee is getting under way again, and the Campus Trustee Nominating Committee is looking for students who might be interested in running.
The election is in early March. The newly elected trustee will fill one of two student-held seats, replacing Julie Chon, a senior whose term ends in June. The other student trustee is Stephen Rockwell, a junior, whose term expires in 1999.
Trustees are responsible for helping to shape the university, plan for its future and set long-range policy. Cornell, where students were first elected to serve on the board of trustees in 1971, is the only Ivy League institution whose student trustees are full voting members of the board. The two student trustees serve two-year, staggered terms on the board, which is composed of 42 voting members and 22 nonvoting trustee fellows.
The nominating committee is looking for candidates who have demonstrated a record of participation in campus activities and a commitment to the betterment of the university and who represent different interests and groups, said Kay Obendorf, committee chair, faculty-elected trustee and professor of textiles and apparel.
"The student members of the Cornell Board of Trustees make significant contributions to the discussion and deliberation of the board," Obendorf said.
"If one is looking for the ability to make significant change for Cornell University, the student-elected trustee position is by far one of the most significant positions for such a purpose," Rockwell said. "Speaking up and voting as a full equal of the other board members can be truly rewarding when you see that your efforts have spurred positive change."
Chon said the best part of her term was helping to build a relationship of respect between students and the board. In addition, she said, "My experience as a trustee reaffirmed my belief in the importance of student representation on the board. People often ask me if the student-elected trustees are marginalized from the rest of the board and if the student seats only serve as a token gesture to the student body. This perception is far from reality. Members of the board approach the student trustees with great interest and respect. The board is serious about understanding student opinions on issues through the student-elected trustees. They rely on us to be the 'experts' on student activity and student life. It's our job to inform the rest of the board about the impact that certain policies would have on students and also to create opportunities for trustees to meet with students themselves."
Students may nominate themselves, and both committee-identified and self-nominated candidates must provide nominating petitions with 200 student signatures. Candidates must be at least 18 years old and full-time undergraduate, graduate or professional students who will maintain their student status during the two-year term, from June 1998 through May 2000.
Information sessions for interested students began Jan. 19 and continue tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the Art Gallery and Jan. 28 at 4:30 p.m. in the International Lounge, Willard Straight Hall. Petitioners must attend one of the information sessions. Additional information is available from the Office of the Assemblies, 165 Day Hall, 255-3715.
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