Students will serve as non-voting members on many of the AU board of trustees' committees, but not on the pivotal Trusteeship or Compensation committees, which decide who will join the board and how much the president will be paid, student leaders said last night.
"I nearly fell out of my chair when they told me that," said Peter Brusoe, chair of the Graduate Leadership Council. "I thought we were going to have to continue to fight for that."
The board's decision to add students to the committees is in line with a plan that student leaders presented to the board last semester calling for specific measures to improve governance.
Kyle Taylor, president of the Student Government, said he would prefer to have students on the Trusteeship and Compensation committees as well. He called them "the most contentious committees and the most important ones."
"To me this is a start," he said.
The students will join the committees beginning with the trustees' Feb. 16 and 17 meeting. More information about their roles and how they will be selected will emerge later this week, Taylor said.
RECENT CHANGES
The board has not allowed students to serve on the Compensation or Trusteeship committees, but the following committees will include student seats.
Academic Affairs
Athletics
Audit
Campaign Steering and Development
Campus Life
Finance and Investment
International Affairs
