Colorado Mesa University Student Trustee

The position of Colorado Mesa University Student Trustee was created in 2003 with the adoption of H.B. 1093, sponsored by Colorado State Sen. Ron Teck and Colorado State Rep. Gayle Berry, which created an eleven-member independent Board of Trustees (nine gubernatorially appointed and confirmed by the Colorado State Senate, one elected by the Student-body of Colorado Mesa University, and one appointed by the members of the academic faculty). Colorado Mesa University (Grand Junction, CO) was founded in 1925 and in 2011 the Board of Trustees asked the Colorado General Assembly to become a university and to change the entity's name from Mesa State College. The University President is appointed by and reports to the Board and is responsible for day-to-day management of the campus and its employees.

The holder of the office of student trustee is regarded as a special knowledge trustee, rather than strictly a representative of the students or the ASG. This distinction is important, as the student trustee is to supervise the governance of the University for the benefit of past, present, and future students of Colorado Mesa University, along with having regard for the local communities of Grand Junction and Montrose, the legislative guided educational region, and the taxpayers of the State of Colorado. In Contrast to the student trustee's function, the student-body president is a representative of the student-body of Colorado Mesa University. The decisions of the student-body president should correspond with constituent preferences, often the student-body president is an 'independent delegate' when presenting their report in front of the full Board of Trustees.

The CMU Student Trustee is regulated by Colorado Revised Statute § 23-53-102(3)(2003), which states that the student-body at large shall elect one of its eligible members to be the Student Trustee. The Office of the Student Trustee is widely recognized as the most powerful and influential position within Colorado's higher educational system. The holder of the office of Colorado Mesa University Student Trustee has the opportunity to socialize, meet, and persuade business leaders, the University's administration, and Colorado elected officials through formal association, the media, and proximity. The Student Trustee also has the responsibility of communicating Board of Trustee decisions to the Colorado Mesa University Student-Body and Associated Student Government (ASG).

Statutory Requirements:

*In 2005 Colorado State history was made when Reggie Norman and Matt Soper had an exact tie for the office of Student Trustee. The President of Colorado Mesa University, Tim Foster, negotiated a deal that resulted in the two sharing the position for the 2005-2006 term. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers issued an unpublished opinion on the matter, stating that because the position carried no formal vote, then the resulting void in the C.R.S. made no provisions for resolving such matters.

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