The Young Trustee Nominating Committee named Taylor Collison, Alex Garinger and Katie Laidlaw Monday night as the three finalists in the race to become young trustees.
The Duke Student Government Senate and the nominating committee will vote at DSG's meeting Feb. 11 to select the young trustee after the finalists meet with each of the student group's four standing comittees. The winner will serve a three-year term on the Duke Board of Trustees.
The nominating committee, chaired by DSG Vice President for Community Interaction Andrew Wisnewski, narrowed the field from eight semifinalists to the finalists after interviews with each candidate and a ninety-minute discussion.
"All eight candidates were qualified," Wisnewski said. "One trait we noticed about the interviews was that the finalists were very candid and exceptionally qualified--they each had a very broad perspective of Duke."
All three have been active campus leaders during their tenure at the University and expressed enthusiasm for Duke's future plans.
Collison, a December 2003 graduate with a BA in public policy studies, hails from Winter Park, Fl. Collison--the current finance chair for Duke University Union and a member of the Student Portal Content Advisory Committee--was president of Craven Quad and social chair of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity last year. He cited the impending expansion of the Pratt School of Engineering, academic improvements to Trinity College and long-term campus development and its effects on students as the three topics of greatest concern to the community. He also expressed a desire to communicate to students "what the Campaign for Duke can mean to them."
Collison said all the candidates have a "very good understanding of the way the University functions" and he is "honored to be one of them."
Garinger, a Greenwich, Conn. native who currently serves as editor of The Chronicle and president of the Duke Student Publishing Company, is a senior majoring in literature and earning certificates in the journalism and film and video programs. Garinger, who was a university editor at The Chronicle last year, said his primary concern as a trustee would be "to serve as the student voice." He cited development of the West Campus Student Center, the potential "Ivying" of the school and Central Campus renovations and the student village as the primary issues the Board will face in coming years. He declined to comment on the other finalists for the position.
Laidlaw is a senior from Katy, Texas, double majoring in French and European Studies. She is the outgoing president of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and served as executive vice president of DUU in 2002. Laidlaw said that increased interdepartmental research, expanded awareness of the Duke/Durham Neighborhood Partnership and student engagement in forthcoming campus development were key issues for the Board to consider. She added that she was especially interested in "getting students practically involved."
"I thought all eight semifinalists were great, honestly," she said. "I was honored even to be among those eight, let alone the top three."
For information about how this story was reported, and about how The Chronicle will be covering the Young Trustee selection process, please see the Editorial Pages.
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