Despite numerous reassurances that “he hasn’t missed a board meeting,” Mark Berkman, the graduate student Board of Trustees member who was dividing his time between a research appointment in Maryland and a student trustee position in Columbus, has resigned five months before the conclusion of his two-year term.A spokesperson for Gov. George Voinovich said Berkman’s resignation takes effect Tuesday at noon. Berkman offered no comment for resigning his position but said he would release a statement later this week. Chairmen of the Board Alex Shumate did not return Lantern phone calls for commentBerkman, a dental student from Bexley, has been living in Bethesda, Md. since June, 1997. Three months earlier, he was awarded a grant to participate in a year-long national research program at the National Institutes of Health.

‘We knew it would be hard’

The feasibility of Berkman adequately fulfilling the demands of both the trustee position and his duties at the NIH was an immediate cause for concern amongst several campus leaders.”We were worried that the dual nature of his role would present some difficulties,” said John Carney, president of USG. “We know the tremendous pressure that student trustees are under as well as the time commitment involved with the NIH appointment.”We knew it would be hard for him.”The resignation followed questions by Lantern editors concerning Berkman’s unusual status as an OSU student living out of state.When he received the appointment to the NIH in March, Berkman said he met with then-President Gordon Gee, Dean Henry Fields of the dental school and the board and they decided he could fill both positions.”That issue was brought up,” said Eric Reeves, president of the inter-professional council. “Of course the other side is that he’s bringing prestige to the university by accepting a cutting-edge research position.”He’s done the best job he could being in two places at once,” he said.From his home in Maryland, Berkman told the Lantern Sunday he was dividing his time between Columbus and Maryland and he had attended every Board of Trustee meeting. “I meet with students regularly on campus,” he said. “I am still able to fulfill all my duties as a student trustee.”Kathleen Carberry, president of the Council of Graduate Students, said although Berkman has been living in Maryland, she has been “very in touch” with him and has spoken to him about once or twice each week.”Initially, we at CGS were a bit concerned,” she said.After speaking with Board members and realizing “we (CGS) couldn’t do anything about it,” the issue of his ability to effectively work both jobs was dropped.Carberry said she and Berkman have had a better professional relationship since he has been in Maryland than they had in the past.Tom Smith, a former graduate and professional student trustee, said it would be difficult for Berkman to fulfill the position from Maryland, but not impossible.”It’s not a day-to-day position but it takes a great amount of work,” he said.

Questions surround enrollment status

The exact status of Berkman’s enrollment remains unclear. He and Henry Fields, dean of the dental school, have given differing accounts over the past several days.Although the rules governing student eligibility for the trustee position require enrollment in the university, Berkman was not enrolled as a student as of Monday, according to the Office of the Registrar. He said Sunday he was enrolled in classes at Ohio State and was not receiving course credit for his work at the NIH. However, Fields said Berkman’s work at the NIH was a full-time job and Berkman was not taking classes.”He’s essentially taking a year off,” Fields said.Later, Fields told the Lantern he had spoken with an administrator and that Berkman was in fact registered as a student at OSU.”I was wrong when I said he was taking a leave of absence,” Fields said.

Benefits of the trustee position

Although under Ohio law the position of trustee is voluntary and no salary can be offered in exchange for service, Berkman has enjoyed a number of perks over the past year-and-a-half available to all board members . These include all-expense paid trips to the Rose Bowl in 1997 and the Sugar Bowl in January.State law also allows trustees to “be paid for reasonable necessary expenses while engaged in the discharge of their official duties.”William Napier, the Board of Trustees secretary, said Berkman has not requested reimbursement for any expenses this year.Napier said he thought Berkman had been reimbursed for one flight from Maryland to Columbus but the reimbursement came from the budget of the presidential search committee, not the Board of Trustees. Berkman was a student member of the search committee.Napier thought the search committee paid for his flight “once, on very short notice to interview the presidential candidate.”

An arduous selection process

Berkman was appointed to the Board of Trustees in May 1996. To receive the appointment, he had to complete a questionnaire, submit a resume and write a five-page statement describing his qualifications to serve as a board member. He then went through a series of interviews before being selected as one of five students for Voinovich to choose from. Voinovich appointed Berkman to the position in May 1996.In a 1997 interview, Berkman also said the position involved maintaining close ties between the students and the Board of Trustees.In an open letter to students applying for the student board of trustees position, Berkman wrote, “Student trustees participate in formal Board meetings, executive sessions and are voting members of Board committees.”

Resignation sets precedent

So what happens next?Michael Duga, chairman of the student trustee voting committee, said there is no precedent for a student member of the Board of Trustees resigning their position.”This will be addressed immediately,” he said.The committee also is working on House Bill 398, which would give voting rights to student trustee members. Duga said it was likely that a formal process to deal with a member resigning in the middle of a term will be added to the bill. Carberry, who is also chairing the search for Berkman’s replacement, said in the case of a resignation, the process for selecting a new board member must be the same as when selecting any board member. She also expressed concern that the position may not be filled for quite some time. Rep. Amy Salerno, R-Columbus, said she is concerned about the bill and reiterated that the purpose of having student board members is to bring the voice of the students to the board. “For me, it’s very important that we have student trustees that are looked upon as the best … so there isn’t criticism about having student trustees,” she said.Duga said he still supports Berkman.”I think Mark Berkman is a highly competent and well-informed representative of the student body at Ohio State,” he said.