Following a resolution passed by the Graduate and Professional Student Council, the Board of Trustees voted to change the structure of the Young Trustee position.
In December 2014, GPSC passed a resolution urging the trustees to add a third Graduate Young Trustee position.
At their February meeting, the Board discussed this proposal and opted to find an alternate solution. Starting with the 2016 election cycle, the undergraduate and graduate schools will alternate years of electing a representative who serves three years instead of two.
“Even though as a collective body [graduates] outnumber undergraduates, we have a marginalized position with respect to our representation on the Board of Trustees, so now we get a sense of parity over the long run,” GPSC President Ben Shellhorn said.
Each Young Trustee that is elected to serve three years will only have one non-voting year. Currently, the Undergraduate Young Trustees serve three years—one of which is non-voting—and the Graduate Young Trustees two years—one of which is non-voting.
The compromised resolution was reached through a collaboration between the Board, GPSC and Duke Student Government, said Shellhorn, a third-year JD/MBA candidate who will begin his term as Young Trustee next year. He added that he collaborated significantly with DSG President Lavanya Sunder, a junior.
“This is the one that I felt most confident that would mitigate any adverse harm to undergraduate representation while making sure we were equal to graduates,” Sunder said.
Although the process was confidential, students were included in the discussions as much as possible, Sunder said.
She emphasized that equality in representation between undergraduate and graduate students was important.
“I think the parity makes sense for the greater Duke experience,” Sunder said.
President Richard Brodhead said that the reason for switching the two- and three-year terms is to keep the number of trustees that remain on the Board at a constant 36, a figure set by the University’s charter.
“It's all lost in the mists of time—why is it that Young Trustees have three year terms if they're undergraduates and two-year terms if they're graduate or professional students?" Brodhead said. "No one knows."
Sunder said she does not expect negative feedback, since the changes will not greatly reduce the efficacy of the undergraduate Young Trustee position.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a huge blow to the undergraduate community,” Sunder said.
Newly-elected Undergraduate Young Trustee Anna Knight, a senior, said that although it does not affect her position, she will play a role in helping the new Young Trustee acclimate to the Board.
"If anything, this means that my mentorship to the next Young Trustees will be even more important ... so getting them up to speed as quickly as possible so they can be as effective as possible with the time they have is incredibly important," she said.
Shellhorn said that although his successor will have a different experience, the next Graduate Young Trustee will be at an advantage due to the institutional knowledge gained during the extra time.
“If anything, the person following me will be better equipped in his or her third year…because they have better perspective,” Shellhorn said.
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