College Provost Barry Scherr set up the Student Budget Advisory Committee last year so that a group of students could meet to discuss the College's budget priorities with administrators on a bi-weekly basis in an informal, cooperative setting.
Scherr, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Adam Keller, Dean of the College James Larimore and roughly a dozen students now sit in on such meetings.
"Our key goals are to get student input in what we are thinking about the budget, and to have a group of students get to understand what the budgetary process looks like at this institution," Scherr said.
"Last year, we were really wrestling with hard decisions," Scherr said. Administrators needed to seek student's advice "on areas they see that need to be protected."
According to Russ Lane '06, who has served on the committee since Fall term, "student input is definitely valued. The students look at a lot of the issues differently, and they experience another side of the campus from a different perspective."
In addition, Lane said that the student committee members represent a diverse group of interests and groups on campus.
"Both sides of the coin are always looked at, which is helpful when looking at multiple aspects of a policy issue or a service offered by the College," Lane said.
Scherr also noted that there is "a reassuring degree of overlap" between student concerns and faculty concerns as voiced in their respective committees.
Faculty members serve on a "subcommittee on priorities." These priorities included protection of the libraries and the general academic side of the institution.
According to Student Assembly Vice President Noah Riner '06, students had no input in the swim team budget cuts and were not aware that budget cuts were being made until they happened.
Riner -- who serves as the chair of the Assembly's membership and internal affairs committee, which appoints students to College committees such as the Student Budget Advisory Committee -- told The Dartmouth that once the swim team cut was resolved, there was a need for a committee that would "allow students to give input regarding the budget decisions of the College."
In addition, the membership committee is in the process of searching for student applicants to serve on the Committee on Investor Responsibility. According to Sam Reisner '02, who serves on the membership committee, the investor responsibility commitee "looks into using the College's investments in a socially responsible way."
Last night, the Assembly sent out a campus-wide BlitzMail message encouraging students to apply to the committee, which is charged with exercising the College's proxy voting rights in publicly traded companies. The message encouraged students with interest in "responsible investing, the environment, global ethical responsibility or related issues facing business companies" to apply via the Assembly website by Friday.
