Joshua Crittenden, Nicole De Brigard, Eric Juarez and Warren Lattimore are this year's selected Graduate/Professional Young Trustee finalists.
Young Trustees are current students selected to be on the Board of Trustees for two or three years that must “demonstrate an ability to think broadly about the university.” There were 32 total graduate and professional applicants this year, according to Margaret Epps, secretary to the Board of Trustees and chief of staff to the Duke president.
The Chronicle interviewed each of the finalists about their background and what they hope to bring to the role.
Joshua Crittenden
Crittenden, a fifth-year doctoral candidate in environmental engineering, hopes to “understand who we are to each other” in the Duke community, broaden engagement with the Durham community, and strengthen wellness resources.
Nicole De Brigard
De Brigard, a third-year juris doctor candidate at Duke Law School, hopes to bring her unique set of life experiences and her passion for servant leadership to the Board of Trustees.
Eric Juarez
Juarez, Graduate School ’22, hopes to improve the infrastructure of higher education to integrate students and faculty in a shared system of leadership.
Warren Lattimore
Graduate Young Trustee finalist Warren Lattimore, a doctoral candidate in theology at the Duke Divinity School, hopes to use his experience in working across boundaries to take an interdisciplinary approach to supporting the University’s priorities.
Young Trustee selection process
The nominating committee for the Young Trustee is selected by the secretary to the Board of Trustees and chief of staff to the Duke president, currently Margaret Epps. This practice started in 2021.
In prior Young Trustee election cycles, A screening committee evaluated applications for the position on behalf of the Graduate and Professional Student Council, and GPSC’s General Assembly chose among several finalists.
Both the Undergraduate and Graduate/Professional Young Trustee selection process underwent very similar revisions in 2021 in order to “increase awareness and understanding of the Young Trustee position, enhance transparency to ensure fairness and inclusion, and align with best practices in board governance for private universities,” Epps told The Chronicle in 2021.
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