Governor selects trustee

All of the searching led to a phone call to Robert Myers, who was officially nominated by Gov. Tom Ridge as the student trustee yesterday.

The student trustee is the only student who is a voting member of the University's Board of Trustees. The nomination of Myers (sophomore-political science and economics) was sent to the state senate yesterday afternoon, said Jerry Feaser, deputy press secretary to Ridge.

Monday night, Myers' parents called him at his new residence in Sigma Pi fraternity, 303 Fraternity Row, with the news.

"It didn't hit me right away. I had kind of put it out of my head. It's been so long," Myers said. "It was in the back of my mind for so long and all of a sudden it is at the forefront again . . . It will probably be weird tomorrow."

Once Myers adjusts to the news, he said he will take advantage of the "great opportunity" he has received by working for student concerns. He said he plans to meet with individual students and student leaders.

"I am a little nervous," he said. "It's a completely different experience than anything I've ever done before . . . It's an incredible opportunity to serve Penn State."

Working to continue the improving academic reputation of the University is one issue Myers hopes to address in his new position.

Myers' academic record and involvement with organizations such as Undergraduate Student Government and the President's Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity got the governor's attention when making the decision, Feaser said.

However, Myers said he will be resigning his position as USG lobbying director because of the time commitment involved.

The governor's office called his home in Lansdale because Myers had moved during the semester break. But the few hours delay did not add much to the eight month wait that Myers and the other four finalists had been through.

The selection process for current Student Trustee Nathan Nair's successor began last March with an application process. Applicants were then interviewed by Nair and other student leaders. Five finalists were chosen, forwarded to the governor for consideration and were interviewed by a governor's aide in May.

The finalists were Myers, Janelle Fleming (senior-advertising and public relations), Alisa Gutman (junior-chemistry), Eric Pratt (senior-business logistics) and Jessica Souder (sophomore-communications).

"I think that all of the candidates were very strong," said former USG President Sharon Entenberg. "I felt in the interview that (Myers) would fulfill all the requirements plus more."

The only problem Entenberg said she had with the selection process was the length of time the governor took to select someone. This concern was shared by Myers and some of the other finalists.

Souder said she is confident Myers will do an excellent job but was frustrated that she had put off some activities because she was waiting for the selection.

"All of the candidates were awesome," said USG President Jaime Desmond. "I'm glad the decision is finally made."

Nair, who graduated from the University in May 1997, could not be reached for comment.