Colorado Mesa University Student Trustee

The position of Colorado Mesa University Student Trustee was created in 2003 with the adoption of H.B. 1093, sponsored by Colorado State Sen. Ron Teck and Colorado State Rep. Gayle Berry, which created an eleven-member independent Board of Trustees (nine gubernatorially appointed and confirmed by the Colorado State Senate, one elected by the Student-body of Colorado Mesa University, and one appointed by the members of the academic faculty). Colorado Mesa University (Grand Junction, CO) was founded in 1925 and in 2011 the Board of Trustees asked the Colorado General Assembly to become a university and to change the entity's name from Mesa State College. The University President is appointed by and reports to the Board and is responsible for day-to-day management of the campus and its employees.

The holder of the office of student trustee is regarded as a special knowledge trustee, rather than strictly a representative of the students or the ASG. This distinction is important, as the student trustee is to supervise the governance of the University for the benefit of past, present, and future students of Colorado Mesa University, along with having regard for the local communities of Grand Junction and Montrose, the legislative guided educational region, and the taxpayers of the State of Colorado. In Contrast to the student trustee's function, the student-body president is a representative of the student-body of Colorado Mesa University. The decisions of the student-body president should correspond with constituent preferences, often the student-body president is an 'independent delegate' when presenting their report in front of the full Board of Trustees.

Eligibility

The CMU Student Trustee is regulated by Colorado Revised Statute § 23-53-102(3)(2003),^[1] which states that the student-body at large shall elect one of its eligible members to be the Student Trustee. The Office of the Student Trustee is widely recognized as the most powerful and influential position within Colorado's higher educational system. The holder of the office of Colorado Mesa University Student Trustee has the opportunity to socialize, meet, and persuade business leaders, the University's administration, and Colorado elected officials through formal association, the media, and proximity. The Student Trustee also has the responsibility of communicating Board of Trustee decisions to the Colorado Mesa University Student-Body and Associated Student Government (ASG).

Statutory Requirements:

A. The Student Trustee must be a full-time junior or senior student at CMU.

B. The term of the Student Trustee shall be one year, beginning July 1.

C. The office shall be advisory, without the right to vote and without the right to attend executive sessions of the Board of Trustees.^[2]

D. The Student Trustee shall have resided in the State of Colorado for not less than three years prior to the student's election.

E. "Full-time student" means the equivalent of the definition of "full-time equivalent student" used by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.

F. The Student Trustee shall take and subscribe to the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution of the State of Colorado before entering the duties of office.

Student Trustees of Colorado Mesa University

*In 2005 Colorado State history was made when Reggie Norman and Matt Soper had an exact tie for the office of Student Trustee.^[21] The President of Colorado Mesa University, Tim Foster, negotiated a deal that resulted in the two sharing the position for the 2005-2006 term. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers issued an unpublished opinion on the matter, stating that because the position carried no formal vote, then the resulting void in the C.R.S. made no provisions for resolving such matters.^[22]

** Problems surrounded Morris' election in the Spring of 2008. She was found guilty of cheating, election fraud and voter intimidation but the ASG Supreme Court allowed her to keep the position. In addition it was the first time the elections of ASG was on line. The election was eventually thrown out because Morris was a write in candidate whose name ended up on the ballot because of problems with the technology and using it for the first time. She was re-elected in the Fall of 2008.

*** Twice, in less than 7 years, there has been an exact tie for the office of student trustee of Colorado Mesa University. Building on the precedence established in Soper vs. Norman (2005), CMU President Tim Foster and CMU Vice President John Marshall encouraged the two girls who tied, Amberlee Sikes and Megan Velarde, to share the office in the same manner as Reggie Norman and Matt Soper did in 2005-2006. According to CMU Probability and Statistics Professor Erik Packard, the odds of two ties for the same office in such a short period of time are as high as winning the $100 million Power ball.

Policy and Evolution of the CMU Student Trustee

On 19 October 2011, the Colorado Mesa Board of Trustees began exploring a public-private model of funding. According to CMU President Tim Foster, the State of Colorado will no longer be funding Higher Education by 2020.^[23] The FY 2010 Colorado taxpayer contribution to CMU was $18.5 million, indicators suggest this figure to be less than $6 million within the decade. If the public-private model is approved by the Colorado General Assembly, then CMU would be the first such institution in Colorado and would no longer by under the auspices of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.^[24] The Colorado Commission on Higher Education is the policy and coordinating board for the State's higher education system including Colorado Mesa University (formerly Mesa State College). Such an evolution could lead to voting rights being granted to the student trustee.

Colorado State Sen. Josh Penry considered introducing legislation to make the student trustee the same person as the student-body president.^[25]
This became complicated, as the student trustee is a legal office, whereas the student-body president is not recognized in statute and is analogous to a union leader. The concept of separation of power has been held to be essential in the American system of governance and is reflected within the structure of federal, state, local, and other public bodies. Colorado Mesa University has had many outstanding student trustees who have dedicated themselves to bettering Colorado Mesa University and bringing a student perspective to Board of Trustee decisions. Charles Dukes, Matt Soper, and Reggie Norman were strong advocates of this position.^[26]

References