Student Position Open on the Board of Trustees Governor’s Office Accepting Applications

The Board of Trustees is the University of Oregon’s governing board. There are fifteen members, one of whom is a student. After ten months of terrific service on the UO Board, student trustee Helena Schlegel has decided to resign from the Board to focus on her service to students as student body president. Trustee Schlegel’s last day on the Board will be November 18, 2015.

Any University of Oregon student can apply to be on the Board. Appointing members to the Board of Trustees is the role of the Governor. Governor Brown makes a nomination which then must be confirmed by the Oregon State Senate. It sounds like a daunting process, but it is really quite simple!

If you are interested, the application for submission to the Governor is available here, and you can read more about executive appointments generally on the Governor’s webpage here. The term you would be filling expires June 30, 2017, so it would be great to consider whether you have the ability to fulfill the remainder of the whole term and perhaps serve beyond that expiration (student trustees can serve two full two-year terms). If you have any questions about how to apply, Governor Brown’s executive appointments staff is available at executive.appointments@oregon.gov. Applications should be submitted by October 9.

The Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) is also engaged in a process to identify students it wishes to recommend as potential nominees to the Governor. That process is outlined on the ASUO website. This process is not required by the Governor’s office.

If you have questions about the Board of Trustees, meeting schedules or general commitments, please do not hesitate to contact the Board Office at 541-346-3166 or at trustees@uoregon.edu.

Statement from Chuck Lillis, UO Board of Trustees Chair:
“I would like to thank Helena for her service on the board these past ten months and we’re very sorry to see her go. We understand and respect the challenge of filling two critical and time-consuming leadership roles, and we appreciate her decision to focus time and energy on her ASUO service. I look forward to working with her in that capacity. The perspective and insights of our student trustee are important and valued. Helena has been a delight to work with, and I appreciate her thoughtful approach to tackling tough issues. She has been a strong member of the board, offering many terrific suggestions and improvements to operations and policy. We look forward to the appointment process and to welcoming a new student to the Board as soon as possible.