BLACKSBURG, Va., April 8, 2003 – The Board of Visitors has named undergraduate student Allan Bradley and graduate student Myrna Callison as its student representatives for the 2003-2004 academic year. The two students will serve as liaisons between the student population at Virginia Tech and the Board of Visitors.
Although student representatives are non-voting members, their responsibilities to the university and its students are highly demanding. Bradley and Callison will be required to maintain contact with the administration including the president's office and the provost, as well as Tech students. The students will present the ideas and viewpoints of the entire student population to the Board of Visitors and serve on specific task forces or search committees.
Bradley, a native of Orlando, Fla. and a double major in Spanish and industrial and systems engineering, will serve as the undergraduate student representative to the board. Bradley has served in many university organizations, including the Student Government Association, Alpha Pi Mu and the swim club. He also serves as the vice president of the Spanish National Honor Society.
After working in the Student Government Association for two years, Bradley said he felt the next logical step would be to work for the university governance system.
"I hope to continue serving the undergraduate community as well as my predecessor has and to make the BOV understand how important student input is in making decisions to improve the entire university," Bradley said.
In addition to being concerned with diversity and discrimination issues on campus, Bradley said he is also worried about the economic future of the university. "I hope that I can convey to the BOV the seriousness of all majors, academic programs and extracurricular activities," Bradley said.
Callison, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii and graduate student in industrial and systems engineering, will replace Christian Rieser as the new graduate student representative. Callison has had extensive leadership experience and served in many organizations including Virginia Tech's Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. She has also worked in several hospitals as an occupational therapist and ergonomist.
Callison said her past leadership experiences have helped her to prepare for her new role by refining her communication skills and improving her ability to determine the most pressing issues in a situation.
Her goals for next year include maintaining representation of the student body to the BOV, keeping the lines of communication open between students and members of the BOV, and assisting in problem-solving solutions to the issues that concern students.
"I would like to meet with the various graduate student organizations and their leaders to determine what issues are of greatest concern to this population and quantify the magnitude of these issues to the Board of Visitors," Callison said.
Callison said she sees this position as an opportunity to act as the voice for the graduate student population. "From this, I hope to make a difference within the university community and give something back to the organization that has made a tremendous impact on my life," Callison said.
The Board of Visitors, the governing authority of Virginia Tech, usually meets four times throughout the year and makes decisions regarding policies pertinent to the university as a whole.
The student representatives are appointed for one-year terms by the chairman of the board to serve on one of the board's committees and are also ex-officio members on the Commission of Student Affairs.
Written by Anna Kirsch, Intern in the Office of University Relations