Recently elected AU board of trustees chair Gary Abramson told student leaders on Tuesday he is open to the idea of putting student representation on the board, which is beginning to rebuild itself following the resignation of four trustees and the removal of former President Benjamin Ladner.
Abramson, a trustee for 19 years and an AU alum, said the board is first working on improving its structure and governance before moving on to search for a new president.
"We have to get our house in order before anyone wants to work for us," he said, as he met with students over lunch to discuss ideas for restructuring the board of trustees to include student, faculty and staff representation.
"We are requesting proposals from several consultants and associations to assist the board in an assessment and reform and its governance issues," Abramson said. "We will also be meeting with and getting input from all the university constituencies."
Student government is currently working on plans of its own about how it thinks the board should be restructured.
"We formed a task force on board governance and they are rewriting board bylaws as we think they should be written," said Kyle Taylor, student government president.
The Student Government is proposing that there should be three student seats on the board, including an undergraduate, graduate and law school student.
"[Student representation] will be a mere 10 percent and I think it's a great way for them to outreach and say we're interested in real change and we need real change," Taylor said.
"At this time I am still keeping an open mind on the issue of student representation on the board, and have not made a decision one way or the other," Abramson said.
Abramson also told students that the board is fully cooperating with the investigation by the Senate Finance Committee into its actions regarding the $3.75 million severance package awarded to Ladner.
The board has been heavily criticized for its lack of transparency and the perception that board members don't care about students, Taylor said. Student activists have started a group called Students for a New AU, which has been lobbying for student representation on the board.
The board has already agreed to put a student representative on each of the five committees which include campus life, academic life, trustees, board governance and presidential search committees, Taylor said.
One of the issues with how the board handled recent events was its lack of willingness to fully inform the university community about its actions and decisions.
"[A student representative] would provide transparency and allow us to have an impact since we're the ones that fund the institution," said Matthew Brown, a freshman in SPA.
However, only a handful of student representatives on the board would not make significant difference, according to some AU students.
"I think there should be equal number of students on the board because if there is only one student, he will just be outnumbered and bullied and [isn't] going to make a difference," said Andrew Freeman, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences.
While many students like the idea of a student trustee, others do not fully support the idea.
"In theory it would probably be a good idea but I'm not sure how it would work in practice and how the board would listen to a student," said Chris Patriquin, a junior in School of International Service and contributing writer for The Eagle.
While the student trustee would be elected by fellow students, Taylor said, some do not see the ability of a student to act on behalf of the diverse range of concerns.
"Part of the problem is that one student wouldn't represent all students' interests," said Stephanie McDaniel, a freshman in SPA.
In the upcoming weeks the board will hold a town hall forum where students can voice their opinions directly to the board regarding student representation, Taylor said.
At their Nov. 11 meeting, the board plans to discuss the issue of student representation, Taylor said.
