The University has chosen junior Kurt Herzer, a recently named Truman Scholar, as the sole undergraduate member of the committee that will search for President William Brody's replacement.
Members of the Student Council expressed frustration at their Tuesday meeting that the University did not select an elected member of the Council for the position. Paula Burger, dean of undergraduate education, asked Council President Scott Bierbryer to nominate two students for consideration but gave him only a few days to make the decision. The Board of Trustees ultimately chose neither of his selections.
The Trustees head the search for the new president. As of press time, the University had not yet formally announced who they selected to the committee. Jerome Schnydman, secretary of the Board of Trustees and executive assistant to the president, interviewed the candidates on the trustees' behalf and was unwilling to comment on the selection before it was officially released.
Herzer said they did not make it clear to them why he was chosen, but that he intended to do his utmost to represent the interests of the undergraduates.
"They were trying to put together a team that had a lot of different perspectives on it. Maybe they felt that my background would contribute to that," Herzer said. Herzer is a public health major and co-chair of the pre-med honor society. He was previously on the committee that selected the new assistant dean for academic advising, and last year he was a member of the diversity leadership council.
Herzer suggested that he may have been chosen, in part, because of his involvement in selecting the assistant dean.
He was surprised that the University chose him over Student Council members but emphasized that he is open to collaborating with them.
"I would love to work with them very closely," he said.
Bierbryer nominated freshman class president Dan Teran and Kate Jacob, junior senator for legislation. Although he would have liked to open up the selection process to the entire student body in order to select the most representative member, Bierbryer did not think that he could do so in the time he was allotted. Instead, he looked for student council members who would be well qualified for the search, and who could manage the time commitment.
"I thought the fairest way to do it within that amount of time was to solicit it within Student Council," he said.
Like other Council members, Bierbryer expressed that he was not necessarily disappointed with Herzer as a choice. Rather, he thought the Trutees should have chosen a second undergraduate, one who was elected by the student body.
The Board of Trustees has invited the Council to join them in an open forum where students may voice their opinions on the search criteria. Herzer said he is more than willing to attend the event and wants to hear the student body's concerns. The forum will take place within the next two weeks.
Bierbryer noted that the nominees were interviewed by administrators, not Trustees.
"I think the fear is that we [Student Council] are being filtered before we can talk to the trustees," he said, also noting that there may be a conflict of interest if a member of the Office of the President decides who is on the committee to select the new president. This sentiment is one that was echoed a number of times at Council meetings.
He said he would be more comfortable if the trustees made the decision directly, rather than through administrators.
"I think it's difficult for any members of the administration to know if any member of the student body is really indicative of student thought," Bierbryer said. "I was really appreciative that Dean Burger recommended that I make nominations, though."
"Perhaps the student they selected will be more agreeable with the administration than my nominations," he said. "But," he noted, "that doesn't necessarily mean he's not representative of the student body."
Council Vice President for Activities Andrew Gerba noted that, although accomplished, Herzer is not representative of the student body. Rather, with all of his academic accomplishments, "he is the exception."
He also thinks the decision not to include a student council member was simply neglectful.
"This is just another example in a long list of incidences when Student Council have not been selected as representatives of the student body, when the student body elected them in the first place," he said.
Bierbryer noted that, although Herzer seems to be "a great guy," he is not sure that he can fully understand the Council's experiences.
"I'm not sure how prepared he would be to represent the issues we've had with the administration," he said.
Sophomore class president Nate Levin hoped to be considered for the position but was not able to express his interest quickly enough to be interviewed.
"I was led to believe that I would have an equal opportunity to interview with everyone else, but I was never contacted," he said. "I'm disappointed and mystified as to why there wasn't better communication and why Student Council didn't have a bigger role in the process."
Unlike Gerba, Levin does not think this incident should be lumped together with the Council's previous tense relations with the administration.
"I don't want to make this into another confrontation with the administration," he said.
Council members also wanted to make it clear that they did not feel a sense of entitlement in the situation. Rather, they emphasized that they are the only elected representatives of the student body.
"The administration doesn't seem to recognize that," sophomore senator for legislation Evan Lazerowitz said. "I thought our input should have been given."
Although the administration did make an effort to include the council to some extent, Lazerowitz noted that they only gave Bierbryer a half of a day to come up with nominees.
"It's a very important choice and I think we should have been given more time," Lazerowitz said.
Lazerowitz emphasized that he has no personal qualms with their final choice for a representative of the undergraduates. But, he noted, "it's a matter of principle. We've been elected to do a job - represent the student body - and we're trying to do it." He thinks the administration has, once again, neglected to let them do their job.
George Washington University included their student body president in their presidential search committee, which ultimately chose Steven Knapp, previously Hopkins's provost.
