The next student regent on the Arizona Board of Regents will come from ASU in 2023.
Student regents are selected by their universities through nominations and then appointed by the governor's office to serve on the board for two years. They have voting rights on the board that passes general university policies for UA, ASU and NAU.
There are two student regents on the board, one is a voting member and the other is a non-voting member.
"Student regents bring unique vision, student perspective and expertise to the board's work," said ABOR Chair Lyndel Manson in an emailed statement. "Our student regents' contributions are vital and essential and we look forward to working with each new student regent."
A student regent is assigned to a two-year term, with the terms cycling among the three public universities. The last ASU student regent, Nikhil Dave, left in 2021 and was replaced by Rachel Kanyur from NAU. In 2023, the new student regent will replace Katelyn Rees from UA.
Dave said the position of student regent represents ABOR's commitment to the students of the public universities and offers a valuable perspective for the other older members of the board of regents.
"One of the things that I always said on the board is that all students are the number one stakeholder at the three public universities and so having a student there like myself and my predecessors who can really represent the voice of the students and the opinions and the perspectives of students across the state," Dave said. "I think that's a really valuable piece."
Potential ASU candidates for student regent are selected through a process run by the Undergraduate Student Government. USG Downtown President Evan Lis helped put together a search committee of USG members and other students from each campus.
Lis said the committee is "top-notch" and is still in the process of selecting its top candidates for the position, which will be ultimately appointed by the governor's office.
The process continues with an official Google form application hosted by USG and the Graduate and Professional Student Association. The application officially closed Oct. 19, but rolling admissions will still be active.
Interviews of each candidate are organized and led by members of the committee. Lis said they received a handful of applications, and that they are still in the process of whittling them down to three candidates.
Lis said the candidates they have reviewed so far are diverse and "eclectic," which was his goal. He wanted a wide variety of students from each campus, even online students, in order to best represent the student population.
"The candidates are top-tier," Lis said. "I can't hold a candle to what they have done."
When the USG committee narrows the field down to three candidates, they will send a letter to the governor. Whoever wins this year's governor election — Kari Lake or Katie Hobbs — will appoint the next ASU student regent in 2023.
Lis said the process of selecting student regent candidates is set to finish in late November.
Edited by Reagan Priest, David Rodish, Grace Copperthite and Piper Hansen.
Reach the reporter at sbrenna5@asu.edu and @shanebrennan36 on Twitter.
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Shane Brennan is the Editor-in-Chief at The State Press. He was a sports and politics reporter, before becoming the editor of the politics desk. He has covered local and state politics for the Arizona Capitol Times and Cronkite News.
