Student Voices Make a Difference

In the late 1990's, Virginia public colleges and universities were challenged by some members of the General Assembly to add student representatives to their Boards of Visitors.

ODU responded to the challenge and since 2002 has had a non-voting student representative on the board, which is also comprised of a faculty representative and 17 voting members appointed to four-year terms by the Governor. The position is highly competitive and coveted as interested students go through a rigorous search process headed by Dr. Geneva Walker-Johnson, dean of students. The many outstanding applicants are narrowed down to three finalists, who are interviewed by the board before one is selected.

The reason I note this at all is because there has never been a clearer example of why a student perspective is so valuable to an institution's governing body than during a debate at a recent board meeting.

At the April meeting, student representative Meredith "Brier" Lee, was listening intently as the board and administrators discussed tuition for the 2009-10 academic year. University administrators proposed a five percent increase and some board members asked if the increase should be less. They argued that one-time money ODU received from President Obama's stimulus plan should be used to offset tuition, instead of for the hiring of additional faculty.

After several minutes, Lee spoke up. It resembled the old E.F. Hutton commercials. The room grew silent and all eyes were on the articulate English major from Chesapeake. Lee argued (and I am paraphrasing here) that while no student on campus ever wanted tuition to go up, she believed students would rather pay more to ensure the classes they needed for graduation were available. By hiring more faculty, she said, more class sections would be available. A smaller tuition increase, she argued, would actually end up costing more in the long run if students had to take an extra year of school just to get into all their required classes.

Since Brier has the respect of the board, her opinion mattered. Later in the day, the BOV made its decision, and several members commented that her remarks strongly influenced their vote.

Brier will be graduating in May and will soon be hired by one of the local school systems as a teacher. Her spot on the board will be filled by one of the three superb students now vying for the job. But her critical thinking and reasoning skills, as well as her ability to articulate an important concept, will remain as the standard for all student representatives to follow.

The Board of Visitors, administrators and students should be thankful and proud of the work Meredith Brier Lee has done on behalf of Old Dominion University.