The student trustee application process has started earlier than normal with an email to students Tuesday.
You could be the next Keith Wilbur.
An email was sent to all Ohio University students Tuesday informing them about the upcoming application to be a student trustee. The email was sent by OU’s current student trustees Wilbur and Sharmaine Wilcox.
There are two student trustees who sit on the Board of Trustees. They are full members of the board, but they do not have a vote nor can they stay for executive session. Nonetheless, Wilbur said he has never been asked to leave any of the board’s executive sessions.
The student trustees serve two-year terms; one is replaced every year. Wilbur’s term will conclude at the end of this academic year.
The final selection is made by Gov. John Kasich and is announced in the spring at the annual Leadership Gala.
The application process typically doesn’t start until later in the year, but the chair of last year’s selection committee, Mary Kate Gallagher, recommended the process start some time during the fall, said Ryan Lombardi, vice president for Student Affairs, in an email.
Wilbur said he hopes that by starting the process sooner, a larger and more diverse pool of applicants will apply.
“We want to make the application more accessible to students,” he said. “We’re just trying to get the word out early.”
Last year, only eight students applied to be a student trustee. Wilbur said he would like for about 25 people to apply this year, and for that number to increase in the future. Ideally, Wilbur said, he would eventually like for about 100 students to apply.
