Institutionalizing Student Voice on the Board of Trustees
By Jackson Harris ’22, Mariam Saied ’23, Cole Kuczek ’23
In the Fall 2020 semester, Student Assembly unanimously passed Resolution 20–1, calling for the Student Assembly President and Vice President to assume an additional role as “Student Trustees.” In this capacity, they would have become voting members of the Board of Trustees.
Although our recommendations were rejected by the Board of Trustees, we do share crucial common ground: the belief that all members of the Hamilton community are committed to the success and development of the College as an institution of higher learning, as well as all the people who participate in it — students, staff, faculty, and trustees alike. In addition, these different members of the Hamilton community bring vitally different perspectives and information to the conversation.
The effectiveness of the policies, programs, and services implemented by the Board are often determined entirely by how they are received and utilized by students. If students were to participate in some of the decision-making of the Board of Trustees, it would inform the Board directly what students want and need. Thus, formal student participation in the operations of the Board of Trustees is mutually beneficial: the student body gains a voice in the objectives and programming of the school, while the Board gains valuable data to aid in the advancement of the College.
Upon discussing the details of the resolution with Board of Trustees Chairman Steve Sadove, Vice Chairwoman Linda Johnson, Vice Chairman Robert Delaney, and Secretary Gill King, as well as President David Wippman, we now better understand the limitations of our initial resolution. First, placing the responsibility of being well-informed voting members — understanding the necessary breadth and depth of issues, topics, and procedures — on just two students whose term lasts but a year is unrealistic. Second, student presence at solely the quarterly Board meetings is not helpful in the goal to include student voice in Trustee decision-making, for most of the work is done outside of these meetings.
Taking all of this into account, we went back to the drawing board and crafted a well-informed, detailed new proposal. At the center of this proposal is a group of student “Committee Delegates” who ensure meaningful student voice within Trustee committees. By distributing the responsibility of student representation on Trustee committees across a larger group of students, we avoid the pitfalls of creating an unmanageable amount of work for the student delegate.
These proposed Committee Delegates are official, though non-voting, members of their committees. We recommend there be 8 Committee Delegates, each serving on two of the following Trustee committees: Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Investments, Advancements, Enrollment, Buildings, Ground & Equipment, Budget and Finance, and Nominations.
A top priority in this mission is to ensure that all interactions between students and the Board are a valuable use of both parties’ time and energy. After researching the work done by each committee, we selected those that would most benefit from student input. The only committees which would not gain student representation are the Executive Committee and the Audit Committee.
The Committee Delegates would be organized within a new branch of Student Assembly, which currently is composed of the Central Council — colloquially referred to as SA — as well as the Honor Court and the Judicial Board. The “Trustee Delegation” would be chaired by a single student — the Chief Student Delegate. The primary function of the Chief Student Delegate is to be a voting member of the Board of Trustees, attending the quarterly full board meetings in that capacity. They would also serve on the Board Governance and Affairs committee as well as be a third member of the all-important Student Affairs committee. When the Chief Student Delegate casts a vote, they stand not only for the voice of the student body but also for Committee Delegates. Well acquainted with the courses of action on the table, they ensure that the Chief Student Delegate makes informed and intelligent judgments.
The Trustee Delegation would have periodic meetings to discuss the various projects in their respective committees. As the elected representatives of the student body, the SA President and Vice President would also be members of the Trustee Delegation, which would be expected to interface, present, and exchange with Student Assembly often. Most importantly, they would be responsible for collecting input and feedback from the student body when necessary, as well as keeping the student body well-informed on all public decisions and publishable work of the Board of Trustees.
The institutionalization of student voice on the Board of Trustees will represent a significant mark of progress in the long history of Hamilton College. We hope the Student Body and Faculty join us in support of this momentous undertaking. For more information on our proposal, please contact Student Assembly, or any of the authors of this proposal — Mariam Saied, Cole Kuczek, or Jackson Harris.
