In his campaign for Young Trustee, senior Nikolai Doytchinov is emphasizing his experience working with the Board of Trustees and his familiarity with how the system works.
A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, Doytchinov has been involved in a variety of student leadership programs over his four years on campus, particularly in Duke Student Government. After serving as vice president for academic affairs as a sophomore, he held the position of executive vice president during his junior year and he currently sits as an associate justice on the DSG judiciary. His involvement with DSG has allowed him to serve on Board of Trustees committees since the start of his sophomore year—experience that makes him a strong choice for Young Trustee, Doytchinov said.
“Right away, I really enjoyed that experience serving on a committee with trustees, talking about issues that are so much broader than something you might see in just the student government or in daily life at Duke,” Doytchinov said. “[We really thought] about how all the schools at Duke fit together, what our strategic vision is and what it means to be a university in the 21st century.”
If elected to the Board of Trustees, Doytchinov plans on bringing a focus to student housing—particularly the University’s block requirements and selective housing living quotas—and financial aid, which, he says, is making Duke less competitive with peer institutions.
“Duke meets full demonstrated need, but those grants are often not as generous as those that our peer institutions give, and the unfortunate thing there is that we’re losing talent in students that would have come here to the fact that the cost can simply be too high,” Doytchinov said. “I think that is something the Board of Trustees looks at closely and that’s something where I could be a voice for enhancements to Duke’s affordability.”
Doytchinov—an economics and mathematics major with a biology minor—said he plans on using his past experiences with the Board to help reach students and make sure their voices are heard.
“For me, running for Young Trustee is a way to take it to the next level, to really bring the experiences that I’ve had as an undergraduate and the perspectives of other students to the full Board now—not just a committee—and participate in high-level discussions about and make sure that students are represented,” Doytchinov said.
Doytchinov served on the Board's academic affairs committee his sophomore year and has been on the business and finance committee in the two years since.
Junior Keizra Mecklai, a friend and DSG colleague of Doytchinov, says his experience with the Board of Trustees and willingness to work to understand complex issues set him apart.
“He is so confident with the Trustees, and he goes out of his way to understand material that is far over the heads of undergraduates while reflecting the needs of the undergraduates respectfully and ably,” Mecklai said.
Michelle Connolly, professor of the practice of economics, emphasized that Doytchinov's motivation allows him to stand out as a student and candidate.
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