After two hours of deliberation Tuesday night, the Undergraduate Young Trustee Nominating Committee chose three seniors to advance to the final round of the Young Trustee selection process.
After two hours of deliberation Tuesday night, the Undergraduate Young Trustee Nominating Committee chose three senior campus leaders to advance to the final round of the Young Trustee selection process.
All three finalists—former Duke University Union President Jonathan Bigelow, Campus Council President Anthony Vitarelli and Duke Student Government Executive Vice President Andrew Wisnewski—are veterans of the Young Trustee selection process, having participated as members of the nominating committee in years past.
The nominating committee chose the finalists based upon the essays and r?sum?s the candidates submitted initially and 20-minute individual candidate interviews that were conducted Monday night.
“All three of them have been campus leaders since their freshman year,” said sophomore Joel Kliksberg, chair of the nominating committee and DSG vice president of community interaction. “They have a lot of charisma and passion for the University, and they have a wide breath of knowledge about Duke’s plans for the future and its current organizational structure.”
Emphasizing their love for the school, the finalists considered all aspects of Duke as they set forth their potential priorities.
“I decided to run because I realized that I had a plurality of experiences that suited the position well,” said Bigelow, whose first contact with the University took place during his junior year of high school, when he was treated at Duke University Hospital. Bigelow said his time at the hospital helped him to understand the experiences of many other patients and to witness the conflict between research and treatment that academic physicians face.
Bigelow has retained an interest in improving safety and quality of care at Duke Hospital and said it would be a paramount concern for him as he served on the Board of Trustees.
Vitarelli listed Central Campus planning as one of the most important current issues for the Board of Trustees. “The ongoing planning for Central Campus will have a dramatic impact not only on student life, but also on the academic experience and the way the University interfaces with Durham,” Vitarelli said.
He added that while the selection process is “incredibly humbling,” he feels prepared to take on the Young Trustee position. “I’ve been exposed to the macro issues facing the University and have been able to participate in the decision-making process on the issues that truly affect student life,” Vitarelli said.
Wisnewski, last year’s nominating committee chair, also believes his experiences qualify him for the position. “I have the general enthusiasm and understanding about Duke and all of its representations,” Wisnewski said. “I know what the position does, and I know the criteria for it, and I have that coupled with my passion and enthusiasm for making Duke as excellent as it shows itself.”
Wisnewski said he stressed the importance of “the need to further increase interdisciplinarity in the University” in his Monday night interview.
All three finalists imparted their desire to use the Young Trustee position as a way to give back to the University. “I love this place. These have been the best four years of my life,” Vitarelli said. “I don’t want to be a regular alum. I want to help out; I want to give back to the place that has given me so much.”
Bigelow also said his involvement with the University will continue regardless of whether or not he is selected as Young Trustee. “Duke has changed my life and made me a whole new person, and I’ll be eternally grateful,” Bigelow said.
The finalists will make each presentations to DSG’s four standing committees, and the final decision will be made through a combined vote of the Senate and the nominating committee. The vote will take place at DSG’s Feb. 16 meeting.
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