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News Release

Last modified: Tuesday, November 5, 2002

Applications available for student trustee position

Applications are now available for the student position on the Indiana University Board of Trustees. The deadline for applying is 5 p.m. Jan. 24, 2003.

Application materials are available in the following locations:

IU Bloomington: Office of the Board of Trustees, Room M005, on the mezzanine level of the IMU.

IUPUI: Office of Student Life and Diversity (University College 002); Graduate School (Union Building 518); and Chancellor Gerald Bepko's office.

IU East: Office of Campus Life (Whitewater Hall); the switchboard (Whitewater Hall); and Chancellor David Fulton's office.

IU Kokomo: Student Activities Office (Kelley Center, Room 210), and Chancellor Ruth Person's office (Main Building 127).

IU Northwest: Office of Student Life (Savannah 219); Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Services (Savannah 226); and Chancellor Bruce Bergland's office (Library 107).

IU South Bend: Student Activity Office (Student Activity Center 202) and Chancellor Mae Reck's office (Administration 250).

IU Southeast: Campus Activities Office (University Center 101) and Chancellor Sandra Patterson-Randles' office (Library 156).

The Board of Trustees is Indiana University's governing board, its legal owner and final authority. The board holds the university's financial, physical, and human assets and operations in trust for future generations. The board was created in 1820. Today it has nine members, six appointed by the governor, and three elected by alumni.

IU has had a student trustee for more than a quarter of a century. In 1975 the Indiana General Assembly amended the statutes, enabling the governor to appoint a full-time student to the board.

The first student trustee, Leslie C. Shively, was sworn in on Jan. 1, 1976. The current office holder, Sacha I. Willsey, a graduate student in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU Bloomington, is the 14th student to hold the position.

Willsey, whose term expires June 30, said her tenure on the board has been an incredible opportunity.

"When I came onto the board, I made it my goal to protect and preserve the proud tradition of academic excellence and public service that are the hallmarks of Indiana University," Willsey said. "I believe I have been able to do that. It is a demanding job, but remarkably rewarding. I would encourage students to apply."

IU President Myles Brand also urged students to apply, saying the position provides an opportunity to have a voice in shaping IU's future while mastering skills that translate far beyond academia.

"The leadership 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 -- these are lessons that will serve you in good stead forever," Brand said.

The student trustee is a fully vested member of the board with all rights, responsibilities and privileges accorded to all trustees. He or she is expected to participate in nine board meetings a year, serve on board committees, take part in various university functions and ceremonies and complete any assigned projects.

The only difference between the student trustee and all other trustees is the length of term: student trustees serve two years, while all others serve three.

Any full-time IU student enrolled at any one of seven IU campuses may apply. Students attending IPFW are counted as Purdue students and are therefore not eligible. The student trustee must be a full-time student for the duration of the appointment. He or she may be an undergraduate or graduate student.

Candidates must be able to confirm that they will have sufficient time to take on the responsibilities of serving on the board without negative impact on their academic careers.

Undergraduates who anticipate receiving degrees during their terms must be able to document serious intent to attend graduate school.

The term of office begins July 1. Applications for the student position will be reviewed by the 2003 IU Student Trustee Search and Screen Committee, which is appointed by the president of the university, and is entirely composed of student representatives from IU's campuses. Co-chairs of the committee are Willsey and Tracy Edwards, an undergraduate pre-med student at IU Kokomo.

The committee will interview selected finalists on March 28 and 29 in Indianapolis. According to state law, the committee must forward 10 names to Gov. Frank O'Bannon, who will make the final selection by June 30.

More information is available at the Board of Trustees office, Room M005 of the Indiana Memorial Union on the Bloomington campus; 812-855-3762, or at the board's Web site at https://www.indiana.edu/~trustees.

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