For students who dream of giving Ohio State President Karen Holbrook a piece of their minds, that dream could soon come true.
The OSU Board of Trustees is seeking a replacement for Joe Shultz, a senior in agribusiness and applied economics, who is serving as one of two student members on the board.
Shultz was appointed by Gov. Bob Taft as the undergraduate student member of the board in 2001 for a two-year term. The Board of Trustees consists of 11 members including one undergraduate student and one professional or graduate student who take responsibility for examining academic programs, budgets, general administration tasks, and employment of faculty and staff.
“This was one the most memorable experiences I had on the board. Being on the board gives you a tremendous amount of respect towards the university and its responsibilities,” Shultz said.
Shultz’s two-year term will come to an end in May. The governor annually appoints one student member to the board, alternating years between an undergraduate student and a professional or graduate student.
Eddie Pauline, president of the Undergraduate Student Government serves as the chairman of the selection committee — along with three other representatives from USG, three graduate students, three professional students and one faculty and one staff member.
“We are looking for a student who wants to voice their opinion and cares about the university,” Pauline said.
The student needs to be comfortable with campus and campus issues, be opinionated and feel comfortable with student government.
Many important decisions are made at the trustee level, and –although the student members do not get to vote on issues — they do get a chance to voice their opinions.
“The student member adds a perspective the board might not have otherwise seen,” Shultz said.
While although the position is highly prestigous, extensive experience in not a neccesity.
“Since this is a two-year commitment and a lot of the applicants are freshmen and sophomores, we are not looking for someone with a list of other activities and leadership positions,” Pauline said. “This a good learning experience for a young student.”
Shultz said he was looking for a way to get involved in the university by some means other than USG.
“The trustee position gives the student an opportunity to be unique,” Shultz said.
The main qualification the selection committee is looking for is good communication skills. The position on the board requires the student to communicate with professionals at an advanced level.
Students interested in applying can print out the application form from the Board of Trustees Web site. The applicant must be a full time student and have a GPA of 2.75 or higher. Applications must be turned into the USG office by 5 p.m. Feb. 17.
Once all applications are in, the selection committee will review them and select 12 students to return for an interview. From the interview they will narrow down the selection to five finalists. Those finalists’ names will be sent to the governor, who will then make the final decision.
Pauline encourages students who are interested to attend a question and answer forum with the two current student members at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 3 Students who are interested can also attend the next board meeting at 10 a.m. Feb. 7 at the Longaberger Alumni House.
