A Steeper Hill to Climb: The Role and Experience of Student Trustees in the 21st Century

• In Event: 75.032 - Engaging With Students and Student Affairs Professionals

Abstract

This paper offers background for understanding the role of student trustees of public, multicampus systems of higher education in the United States. Bandura’s (1986) Social Cognitive Theory is used to expose and highlight how student trustees experience and navigate their roles in a manner distinct from laymen trustees. Interviews with 30 current and immediate past student trustees indicate that student trustees have unique experiences in the trusteeship influenced by: (1) their identities as both student and trustee, (2) their limited terms and representation on the board in comparison with their laymen peers, (3) their explicit and/or implicit attachment to the student constituency, and (4) their relative inexperience in life, education, and employment involvements in comparison with their laymen peers.

Authors

• Raquel M. Rall, University of California - Riverside

• Daniel Maxey, Santa Clara University