Not only is Chelsea Goldstein the only female Young Trustee finalist, she is also the only independent.
Goldstein, former Duke Student Government vice president for Academic Affairs and former president of Duke Debate, said her experiences and her campus involvement have prepared her to serve as an informed member of the Board of Trustees.
Goldstein said that while in DSG, she worked to improve academic policy, helping create the Masters of Management Studies degree—a one-year program covering the foundations of business—and instituting a new underload policy. She said she was also an advocate for student concerns, lobbying administrators on behalf of students writing theses in small departments and science majors trying to fill their Trinity requirements.
“I love learning about the way people learn,” Goldstein said. “And not only learning about these policy issues, but trying to use them to change my context for the best.”
And as an unaffiliated female, Goldstein believes she is in a unique position to represent the voices of a large segment of campus as an undergraduate Young Trustee.
Goldstein could be the first female undergraduate Young Trustee in six years.
In her application, Goldstein wrote that she may be challenged to transition from being a “student advocate to being an agenda-less decision maker on the Board of Trustees.” Goldstein said that if elected, she will provide a fresh perspective for the Board, but added that it would be irresponsible for her to represent a single constituency or issue.
“I think the fact that I’ve seen this is going to be my biggest challenge would give me the tools to solve it by actively focusing on it,” Goldstein said.
As a Board member, Goldstein would make decisions that affect the Duke community as a whole. Although she emphasized not having an agenda, she said she would like to see the Board address issues concerning sustainability, endowment transparency and socioeconomic diversity on campus.
Goldstein said her eight years of debate experience, during which she had to evaluate both sides of an issue, will help her new role. She also pointed to the Young Trustee’s first-year observation period as a chance to transition before becoming a voting member.
And although her DSG experiences may present a few challenges, Goldstein said that they have given her a perspective of students’ needs and how the University works that the other candidates may lack.
“In order to be effective [as a Young Trustee], you need to make quick decisions. If you don’t have the fundamental knowledge, you will not be,” said current Duke Debate President Matt Byrne, a junior. “She has knowledge and experience in her work with DSG.”
Goldstein said her debate experience and time serving as a representative on the Academic Affairs Committee to the Board would make her an effective participant if elected.
“I know she has exceptional skills in conveying arguments clearly and concisely to others,” said Kevin Troy, Trinity ’09, who served as Duke Debate vice president with Goldstein. “I think the Young Trustee position is one where it is most important to have a clear voice.”
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