The Graduate and Professional Student Council elected Tomalei Vess as its next young trustee Monday evening.
Vess, a seventh-year graduate student in biology, and former president of GPSC, defeated Drew Dropkin, a third-year law student, and William Wood, a third-year medical student, for the position after winning a simple majority in the first round of voting.
"I can call my husband and say, OHoney, you can relax now,'" Vess said. "I'm excited... excited, grateful, ready to serve."
Vess will replace former GPSC ombudsperson Clark Smith, Graduate School '99, who was elected young trustee in 1999.
Before the vote, each candidate gave a five-minute presentation and then answered questions for three minutes, before the council retired into executive session.
Vess' presentation emphasized her four years of experience with GPSC, a factor to which she attributed her victory.
Specifically, she cited her work on the Best Practices document, a summary of issues affecting graduate students that GPSC presented to the administration in 2000, as one of the major ways she has contributed to graduate and professional student life.
"I've shown I'm willing to serve for a long time," Vess said. "During that time, I've gotten a really good sense of what graduate and professional issues really are."
Vess said a main role of the young trustee is to develop relationships on the Board of Trustees and demonstrate the importance of graduate and professional student issues.
"President [Nan] Keohane mentioned the graduate and professional student issue in her list of priorities for the first time this year," she said.
"[But] graduate and professional student needs are really not incorporated into University initiatives. The role of the young trustee is to turn this heightened awareness into real results," Vess said.
She added that making Central Campus more friendly to graduate students, recognizing the importance of graduate student academic integrity and alleviating parking concerns were among her top priorities for graduate students.
GPSC President Elayne Heisler declined to provide the exact number of votes for each candidate, but noted it was difficult to choose one representative for the council.
"It was hard to select someone to represent both graduate and professional students since it is such a diverse group," she said. "I'm happy with the three candidates we presented."
A screening committee interviewed 10 applicants for the position Jan. 12 and reduced the field to the finalists.
Dropkin, a member of the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc.'s board of directors, focused on his ability to immediately be a credible voice for graduate students on the board because of his broad experience with Duke, since he was also an undergraduate at the University.
Wood highlighted his ability to build community among graduate students, undergraduates and the University as a whole, emphasizing conversations he has had with Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta to expand the role of graduate and professional students in campus life.
Vess, a graduate of James Madison University, currently resides in Durham with her husband of six years, Todd Preuninger.
She expects to complete her dissertation on development and evolution of ladybug spotting patterns in May 2002.
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