Being Young Trustee

If you have been at Duke for more than a year, you are probably aware of the yearly buzz surrounding the Young Trustee selection process, and the inevitable subsequent conversations on how to reform the process. What is surprisingly absent every year, however, is any discussion centered on actually understanding the position of Young Trustee. The majority of the Duke community has only a faint idea of what the Young Trustee is or does. To help catalyze discussion to better understand the position, I would like to share with you my idea of what the position entails and why it is important for the University.

The Duke University Board of Trustees is the primary governing body of the University, and is critical to Duke's success as a top-tier research university. The Board plays a key strategic role for Duke, and makes many of the most important decisions facing the University, many of which have financial underpinnings. Our Board of Trustees is made up of some of Duke's most successful alumni, though there are equally valuable non-alumni trustees. Members of the Board of Trustees are chosen because of a demonstrated ability and desire to advance Duke University. In addition to a tremendous commitment to Duke, our Trustees each bring unique perspectives and talents to our Board.

Unique perspective is the true value-added of the Young Trustee. The Young Trustee is student-elected to a three-year term on the Board of Trustees. He or she spends the first year as a non-voting observer-though still actively participating in meetings during this time-and the last two years as a full voting Trustee. Though the Trustees undoubtedly maintain the best interest of the University, many have been removed from the life of a student for many years. The Young Trustee has a responsibility, among others, of providing the valuable perspective of a recent graduate who has just seen Duke from the ground. It is quite common for Trustees to solicit the Young Trustee's feedback on specific issues and initiatives, though the Young Trustee is expected to contribute in many other ways as well.

Though the juvenile-sounding name may be misleading, the Young Trustee has the same voting power as any other member of the Board of Trustees. Contrary to popular belief, the Young Trustee should not act solely as an advocate on behalf of undergraduates, or any specific constituency for that matter. Instead, the Young Trustee ideally seeks to understand the complex decisions and issues facing the University to the best of his or her ability, and seeks to propel the University forward by contributing while keeping in mind his or her experiences as a recent student. In other words, though the Young Trustee is not a student representative to the board, there are many situations in which the Young Trustee naturally advocates for undergraduates and students at large by virtue of the issue at hand.

As with other Trustees, the Young Trustee is neither expected nor advised to remain at Duke University or in Durham during the course of his or her term, as gaining an understanding of life outside the "Duke bubble" grants one an invaluable outsider's perspective on the Duke experience and on the role of Duke University in society at large.

In order to gain a well-informed perspective of the issues at Duke University, I have been meeting with and speaking to individuals from all areas of Duke University over the past month. I have already or will soon be speaking to DUU, OIT, previous Young Trustees, the Duke University Health System, Fuqua, Duke Medical, Duke Law, the Nicholas School, Women's Center, Center for LGBT Life, Mary Lou Williams Center, Alumni Association, Admissions Office, and the usual suspects: President Richard Brodhead, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask and Provost Peter Lange. I am meeting with these individuals and these centers to better understand the areas and issues of Duke University with which I have had limited experience. Though I only have another month left here in Durham, please e-mail me now or at any point in the next three years to let me know if there is anyone I should meet with or if you would like to bring any issues to my attention. I look forward to serving and advancing this extraordinary University for the next three years. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Sunny Kantha, Trinity '09, is the 2009 Undergraduate Young Trustee. He can be reached at sunny.kantha@duke.edu.