VSA announces young trustee position

At the most recent Vassar Student Association (VSA) meeting on Sunday, Jan. 22, VSA President Tanay Tatum '12 announced that the VSA was preparing to propose that Vassar College's Board of Trustees include a young trustee position, which would allow recent graduates to have a chance to share their perspective as students with the Board.

"We're expecting to submit [the proposal] next week or so, and the Board of Trustees meets in February, and we hope they'll approve of it," explained VSA Vice President of Finance Jason Rubin '13 in a separate interview.

The VSA proposal includes two young trustee positions, consisting of four-year terms that would be staggered so that one new trustee is chosen every two years. All candidates would be recent Vassar graduates.

The young trustee would have the same powers and responsibilities as the other trustees on the Board, despite their unique title. Said Rubin, "Of course, we expect that they will lean more toward the student perspective, and be involved in subcommittees like Academics or Student Life where their experience is more relevant. But they're not limited to those."

Rubin cited the desire for a greater student perspective on the Board of Trustees as the main reason for the proposed position. Currently, Henry P. Johnson '88 is the most recent graduate on the Board, meaning that no one on the Board has been a student at Vassar for almost 25 years.

"[The position] makes the Board more accessible to students," Rubin added, elaborating on the expected benefits of the position. "The young trustee will be someone students are familiar with, who they'll be more comfortable addressing their concerns to. It also allows us to educate the student body about what the Board of Trustees does."

However, the role of students in the Board of Trustees is limited, and that will not change if the Board does accept the VSA's proposal. Students will have no role in choosing the young trustees.

"I think that there's a natural inclination to appoint a student trustee, because that's how the College is structured," said Rubin. "We have joint committees with students and professors and administrators that work together on various issues."

The Board of Trustees operates very differently from other committees that have a role in directing the College. "The Board of Trustees is not a representative entity; it's not tasked with the present. The Trustees are responsible for future planning and the well-being of the College," Rubin explained.

This is part of the reason why the VSA chose not to propose a student trustee position. Rubin cited studies by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges in his explanation.

"Where there is a tradition of including faculty or students as trustees, any move by the Board to break with tradition would likely result in a damaging political battle," wrote Merill P. Schwartz in Trusteeship magazine, which is published by the Association of Governing Boards. (Trusteeship Magazine, "Board Composition: Student and Faculty Trustees," July/August 2010)

"AGB generally doesn't support the inclusion of students or faculty as voting Board members because of the inherent conflict of interest, especially for an employee, in serving on his or her own institution's board," Schwartz stated. "The best approach is generally to ensure that all trustees receive a substantive orientation about their responsibilities and uphold the Board's standards concerning conflicts of interest."

The VSA hopes a recent graduate on the Board of Trustees will offer the best of both worlds. "A young trustee will have the same perspective, without the conflict of interests," said Rubin.

Though the VSA has not formally presented the proposal to the Board of Trustees, some VSA members have consulted with the administration to create an agreeable proposal with a greater likelihood of being accepted and fulfilling the needs of the College community. According to Rubin, President of the College Catharine Bond Hill first suggested that a young trustee might be a better option than a student trustee.

Other administrators found out about the proposal more recently. "I heard about the proposal at my weekly meeting with the VSA Executive Board (this occurred on Friday)," wrote Dean of Students Chris Roellke in an emailed statement about his involvement with the proposal. "I know students have long been interested in bolstering student voice with the Board of Trustees."

Roellke was cautious but even-handed when asked for his opinion on the proposal. "I have been very impressed with the trustees, their expertise and their accessibility to students and to their ideas," he stated. "I think having a diversity of perspectives on the Board is always a good thing and if this proposal can advance this ideal then I am in support of it getting full consideration."