Governor Mike Pence appointed junior political science and public communication double major Dustin Meeks to a two-year term as the Ball State student trustee on Monday.
The student member of the Board of Trustees is full voting member of the board. The Daily News spoke with Meeks about his newly-appointed position.
Q. Why did you decide to apply for the student trustee position?
A. I decided to apply for this position for exactly the same reasons that I chose to attend Ball State: educational value and The Ball family legacy. Ball State provides world-class educational opportunities to its students at the second lowest tuition cost of any flagship institution in the state of Indiana; this is something that I wanted to see continued, and I sought a seat amongst the trustees to fight for the best educational value for students. The Ball Brothers believed in innovation, entrepreneurship and philanthropy, which are values that I hold as well. I chose to apply for this position because I felt that my beliefs reflected this institution's mission, and also because I have deep love for this university and its community.
Q. What is expected of a student trustee? Were there any requirements to apply?
A. The student member of the Board of Trustees is full voting member of the board and serves the university by bringing his or her unique perspective to issues facing the board. Requirements for application included Indiana residency, being a student for the next two years and a 2.5 minimum GPA.
Q. You had to wait a while before a decision was made and announced. What was that waiting period like?
A. It was a very long waiting period. Interviews with Dr. [President Paul] Ferguson occurred in March, and it took the Governor’s Office a few months to make a decision. The governor appointed several people to a wide variety of boards and commissions today, so it made sense that it took some time. I checked my email compulsively, like five times a day everyday, hoping for some news about the appointment, so I would say there was certainly a little bit of anxiety.
Q. What do you hope to accomplish during your time serving in this role?
A. I will strive as a member of the Board of Trustees to keep Ball State innovating to provide the best educational value that it can for students. Ball State is an important nationally-acclaimed institution, and as trustee I want to maintain that integrity and build on our strengths of entrepreneurship, innovation and philanthropy.
Q. What do you want the student body to know and understand about you, and why is this position important to them as students?
A. I think if I could offer anything about myself it would be that I am a strong believer in interpersonal communication, and if they have strong feelings about the goings-on of the university I am open to discussing them. As a trustee, even the student member, I have to put the long-term sustainability and mission of the university before all other considerations, but the more informed I am about the concerns of students, the better. This position is important to students because it means that even when the Board of Trustees makes decisions that students might disagree with, there was a voting member present who comes from a similar place voicing their concerns on the board. Students are only one part of a large university community, but we do have a voice in the decisions of the board.
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