The University of California Board of Regents will appoint a non-voting student advisor to their board under a two-year pilot program that received unanimous board approval Thursday (Jan. 21).
Student regent Abraham “Avi” Oved developed the pilot project, in consultation with board chairman Monica Lozano and UC President Janet Napolitano.
The goal is to give regents a more comprehensive student perspective on university issues. As such, the student advisor will be selected from a segment of the student population not represented by the student regent. For example, if the incoming student regent were an undergraduate, the student advisor would be chosen from the ranks of graduate or professional students.
“Undergraduate, graduate and professional students often have very different concerns and priorities from one another,” Oved told the board. “The student advisor position would complement the role of student regent, and provide additional perspectives on student life.”
Student advisors will serve a one-year term, with the first student advisor joining the board on July 1, 2017. The student advisor may attend open sessions of the board and its committees, and may also serve in an advisory capacity on three committees, preferably those on which the student regent or student regent-designate do not serve.
To qualify for the position, a student must be good standing at a UC campus during his or her year of service. The application and selection process will mirror that used for appointing the student regent.
Funding for the pilot program will come from the Student Affairs budget in the UC Office of the President. It will be evaluated after two years based on criteria developed by the UC President’s Office, along with an evaluation of all types of student engagement with the Regents.
