"I am writing to clear up some issues raised by my June 13 letter to the Senate Finance Committee.
Regarding the issue of consultation with student representatives, the Student Government wishes to correct any perception that there was not frequent communication between the Board's Governance Committee and students. The letter from June 13 refers specifically to the fact that Student Government leaders did not see written proposals for governance changes until a week prior to the May Board meeting, and therefore had little time to negotiate alterations to the proposal provided by the Governance Committee. However, the Student Government does not mean to discount the fact that students spoke with trustees on the Governance Committee in numerous phone calls and emails throughout the semester and also met in person in February and April.
Issues regarding Board members' votes were also raised in the June 13 letter. Members of the Board vote on some issues of importance in executive session, which is a confidential setting. Therefore, the Student Government does have a record of how each trustee voted in these sessions, and we do not wish to implicate any individuals on the Board incorrectly for their votes. The letter refers to a group of thirteen trustees, however individuals within this group may not have all voted the same way on all of these matters, including the Ladner severance package.
The Undergraduate Student Government still believes that students' voting membership on the Board is crucial and that awarding former University President Ben Ladner the severance package was not an appropriate decision. However, it was not the Student Government's intent to attribute votes to particular trustees or mischaracterize the open nature of communication between students and trustees during the spring of 2006.
Though there may be disagreements about the content of governance changes passed in May, the AU Student Government looks forward to collaborating with the Board of Trustees on the presidential search process. The presidential search for American University is a process that the both Student Government leaders and trustees agree is important."
