Who is this mysterious board of trustees that makes important decisions that affect the lives of so many students, faculty and staff? Can we trust them to serve in our best interests?
I first thought about these issues 10 years ago as a graduate student at Ohio State. It never occurred to me before then to think about trustees' roles in governing a university.
While I was working on a master's degree in journalism, I wrote for Ohio State's student newspaper, the Lantern. The first story I wrote was about the appointment of a new trustee.
At Ohio State, trustees are appointed by the governor. My story for the Lantern was the lead story in the paper (probably not so much because of my reporting or widespread student interest in trustee activities, but more because it was a slow news week). Shortly after my piece ran, a woman wrote a letter to the editor criticizing the governor for appointing another white male to the board. I contacted the woman and wrote a follow-up piece that also ended up on the front page.
The experience was invaluable. I learned so much about the newsgathering process from covering that one story, and also about the interplay of politics and power at a major university.
Sometimes student journalists underestimate the access they have to people in power. Back then, when I first set out to contact the governor's office for a comment on the trustee appointment, no one would help me. Finally, I called one last time, reminding the staffer that it was an election year and that the Lantern has a circulation of 50,000. Someone called me back within five minutes!
Now, I'm finding myself thinking again about university trustees and their role in decision-making.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Where are the women?
This week, five alumni were appointed to serve on Case's Board of Trustees, according to yesterday's Case Daily.
While I'm happy to learn that the new appointees are alums of the university, I can't help but wonder why of the five, none of them are women. I haven't seen photos of the men (I'm assuming they are all men, just going by their first names: John, Joseph, Thomas, Andrew and Alan), so I don't know if any of the men represent diversity in terms of race or ethnicity.
Sometimes people get annoyed when diversity issues get brought up in situations like this. People are tired of hearing about divisions across race, class and gender lines, but we need to think about the goals of higher education. Do we aim to enlighten and empower people? Are we committed to making higher education accessible to those who might not otherwise have the means to pursue a college degree? Do we want to educate future leaders who will be well equipped to thrive in an increasingly global community? Then, these issues are still important and relevant.
It's encouraging to me that all of the new appointees have graduated from Case and that they all appear to be quite accomplished. But surely there are women who fit the bill.
Directly underneath that news item in the Case Daily, there was a mention of the university's faculty diversity officer: "Beth McGee, the university's faculty diversity officer, is the administrator of a university-wide listserv that publicizes Case diversity activities, disseminates information, and brainstorms about diversity ideas. If you would like to be on the listserv please contact bethmcgee@case.edu, or e-mail university-diversity-general@case.edu."
Ironic.
While I'm happy to learn that the new appointees are alums of the university, I can't help but wonder why of the five, none of them are women. I haven't seen photos of the men (I'm assuming they are all men, just going by their first names: John, Joseph, Thomas, Andrew and Alan), so I don't know if any of the men represent diversity in terms of race or ethnicity.
Sometimes people get annoyed when diversity issues get brought up in situations like this. People are tired of hearing about divisions across race, class and gender lines, but we need to think about the goals of higher education. Do we aim to enlighten and empower people? Are we committed to making higher education accessible to those who might not otherwise have the means to pursue a college degree? Do we want to educate future leaders who will be well equipped to thrive in an increasingly global community? Then, these issues are still important and relevant.
It's encouraging to me that all of the new appointees have graduated from Case and that they all appear to be quite accomplished. But surely there are women who fit the bill.
Directly underneath that news item in the Case Daily, there was a mention of the university's faculty diversity officer: "Beth McGee, the university's faculty diversity officer, is the administrator of a university-wide listserv that publicizes Case diversity activities, disseminates information, and brainstorms about diversity ideas. If you would like to be on the listserv please contact bethmcgee@case.edu, or e-mail university-diversity-general@case.edu."
Ironic.
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