While Cornell University is currently the only Ivy League institution to seat students on its Board of Trustees, the concept is a recurring theme of Dartmouth student government campaigns, including that of student body presidential candidate Frances Vernon '10. The proposal, though, is unlikely to gain traction with the Board, as a 2007 report by the trustees' governance committee advised against creating such a position.
Vernon proposed adding a student representative to the Board as part of her campaign platform, although she said she is not certain how to best implement this proposal in an interview with The Dartmouth.
She said creating a student trustee position is necessary because the Board must represent the study body's interests.
Several of the 2008 student body vice presidential candidates and the 1998 presidential candidates included a proposal for a student trustee in their campaigns, The Dartmouth previously reported.
The governance committee issued a 2007 report that advised against electing "stakeholders besides alumni," including students, to the Board. The report is the same document that recommended the Board add eight trustees selected by the Board itself, which eventually prompted the Association of Alumni to file suit against the College in fall 2007. The Association alleged that the Board was legally bound to maintain an equal number of Board-selected and alumni-elected members.
A trustee should represent the interests of the entire organization, rather than a specific constituency, committee members wrote in its report.
The Board has not changed its position on this matter since it accepted the governance committee's recommendations, according to College spokesman Roland Adams.
Members of the Board could not be reached for comment by press time.
Student Body President Molly Bode '09, in an interview with The Dartmouth, said she supports the creation of a student trustee position because of her experience serving on the presidential search committee. Bode said she provided valuable advice during committee meetings.
"I was able to explain all of the cultural stuff that goes on here, and to provide perspective on the campus," she said.
Bode said she thought a student trustee would play an analogous role during Board meetings.
"They would be able to provide the key information right there in the discussion," she said.
Bode added that, even without a student member of the Board, there is sufficient communication between students and College officials.
"I think that as students here, our current access to the administration is unparalleled," she said.
If the Board adds a student trustee, Bode said, it could also face pressure to include members from other constituencies.
"You would have to decide if you need to open it up to other reps, like of the graduate community, and expand the Board," she said.
Cornell includes one undergraduate student and one graduate student on its Board of Trustees. The students are elected by the entire student body to serve two-year terms.
Two faculty members, elected by the Cornell faculty, and one staff member, elected by the entire staff, also serve as trustees.
Undergraduate trustee Kate Duch, a senior at Cornell, said she would encourage other colleges and universities to consider adding student representatives to their boards.
"As a student, I speak up about aspects of policies that affect students in ways perhaps the Board doesn't recognize," she said, adding that while most other trustees attended Cornell, many graduated 30 or 40 years ago and have a more outdated perspective of the campus.
"In some instances, I've really felt like my voice is given more weight because of the experience I have as a current student," Duch said.
The student trustee positions were established as part of the university's efforts to provide a greater student voice after the Willard Straight Hall takeover, an incident when black students forcibly seized control of the Cornell student union building following a period of racial tension on campus.
