Search begins to fill student trustee seat

By ERIN STROUT
Collegian Staff Writer

Although Student Trustee Don Lamuth will have a year left in his term once he graduates in May, the search for a replacement for the University Board of Trustees has begun.

"I will serve indefinitely until a new student is confirmed," Lamuth said, guessing that his last board meeting could be in July.

A committee comprised of current student leaders will choose three to five finalists by the end of April and send the names to Harrisburg. Gov. Tom Ridge and the Secretary of Education will choose one of the students for the state Senate to confirm.

But judging from when Lamuth was chosen in 1993, the new nominee could be waiting in the wings for quite some time. Although Lamuth was nominated that July, the state Senate did not confirm him until December.

All 32 trustees serve 3-year terms, but the six trustees appointed by the governor serve until he replaces them. Legally, student trustees could serve after they graduate, until the governor replaces them. It is not required that a student serve on the board.

"As long as students continue to do the job well, as long as it's a benefit to everybody, we won't be in danger of losing it," Lamuth said.

Lamuth said student trustees should work around their expected graduation dates and nothing should be changed about the laws.

"Student trustees should use their heads about how to serve out the rest of their term," he said. "They should follow the precedents set before them."

Lamuth said in November he did not want to start the search for a new trustee until a new University president was found.

Now that the presidential search is over, Lamuth and other student leaders have initiated the search, with applications available Monday.

And while the biggest qualification for the job may sound simple, Lamuth said it is the most important part.

"In all seriousness, the No. 1 qualification is a really intense love for the University," Lamuth said. "You have to want to see it improve."

The candidates should also be interested in such topics as teaching quality, higher-education costs and state appropriations, he said.

Students have their own ideas concerning what the new trustee should be vocal about. Not only does Jennifer Dunn (senior-accounting) not want to see tuition increase, she has ideas for how the University could save some money.

"The (Bryce Jordan) Convocation Center is pointless -- if they're cutting the budget, why are we doing all these things? Rec Hall is fine," she said.

Dunn also said the University's budget should be totally open. Although tuition goes up every year, it seems that the administration still spends a lot of money, and Dunn wants to know where it goes, she said.

Patrick Armitage (sophomore-philosophy) also is concerned about strained University resources but has different views about how the student trustee could help.

"Cut down on the administration -- bureaucracy is a waste," he said. "Compare it to what happened in the Roman Empire -- they spent so much time on bureaucracy, it fell apart."

And the board has expectations as well. It likes to see a student who gets involved outside and inside the classroom, said Trustee Marian U. Coppersmith Fredman.

"We like to see someone who's candid and fair -- a good communicator," Coppersmith Fredman said. "Someone who knows the way to accomplish something -- negative student trustees have not faired well."

But once the new student trustee has finally been confirmed, the hard work is just beginning. Lamuth said there is a lot to learn -- he admits that even coming to the end of his term, there are things he is learning.

One of the first challenges will probably be learning all views on University issues, but the new student trustee will also have to get comfortable with the other board members.

"I think early on you shouldn't alienate yourself by being too vocal -- don't assert your opinion on too many issues," he said. "Start to meet all the trustees and administrators -- if you do get close to one, look to them to be your mentor."

Lamuth said there were many trustees who helped him in his early days, including Coppersmith Fredman and Trustees David A. Morrow and Edward P. Junker. Board President William Schreyer also has been factor in Lamuth's term.

"Bill Schreyer has always helped me along in my development," Lamuth said.

Coppersmith Fredman also advises talking to the trustees on a one-to-one basis to get to know them. "That way the trustees have a better understanding of one another."