• Board denies MUSG President's request for guest members on board committees.
• Wild said board open to increased student role.
• Past recommendations for student membership on board also failed.
• Other Jesuit universities have student membership on several board of trustee committees.

The Marquette University board of trustees denied a proposal aimed to increase student membership within the board's committees.

The proposal, submitted by Marquette Student Government President Brock Banks, called for the addition of a "student guest" on all seven board of trustee committees, including the Committee on Academic Affairs and Planning, the Committee on Administration and the Committee on University Advancement.

Banks said he remained positive on the outlook for increased student involvement.

"Certainly I'm disappointed by the board's decision, but I'm optimistic that this can be a starting point for an increased role of students," he said.

In a letter to Banks, University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild said the presence of students on board committees could hamper the board's ability to "discuss sensitive issues frankly and openly."

"The addition of guests, whether students or some other group, can preclude the type of conversation necessary to ensure that the business of the committee is accomplished effectively," Wild said in the letter.

Steve Frieder, the board's corporate secretary, would not specifically address the board's rationale, but said an environment of open discussion is important.

"All of the trustees take their responsibility to Marquette very seriously," Frieder said. "They value the opportunity to have a frank and open discussion on issues important to the university."

Despite the rejection, Wild said in the letter he would ask committee chairs to consider inviting student guests to meetings "when the committee is discussing an agenda item where that would be appropriate."

Banks said he hopes the committees will follow up on the request.

"Student input can be a great asset to the board," Banks said. "I'm hopeful the committees will take advantage of it."

Other members of MUSG also stressed the importance of student feedback.

"Student involvement is absolutely critical," said John Kristan, a sophomore College of Arts & Sciences senator. "Without the students, Marquette would not exist."

Currently, the only committee with student representation is the Student Affairs Committee. Four student guests – the MUSG president and executive vice president, the Residence Hall Association president and a student from University Ministry – are regularly invited to Student Affairs Committee meetings.

Frieder stressed the significance of the board's willingness to involve student guests on some issues.

"To me, the most important thing to focus on is that the Executive Committee is open to inviting student guests," he said. "There are ways in which we want to have students involved in areas other than student affairs."

In the proposal, Banks cited several situations in which student input proved beneficial, including the improvement and relocation of Open Pantry, a small on-campus grocery store and the reinstatement of the service learning program in South Africa.

Banks also suggested that the Gold nickname debacle of the 2004-'05 academic year could have been prevented if students were involved. In the spring of 2005, the Marquette board of trustees decided to change the university's nickname from Golden Eagles to Gold. After backlash from students and alumni, the name was changed back to Golden Eagles.

The proposal also included a list of several Jesuit universities with student membership on board of trustees committees. Boston College, College of the Holy Cross and Gonzaga University have student representatives on committees outside of student affairs.

Banks' proposal was not the first attempt by an MUSG President to increase the input of students on the board. In the 2003-'04 then-president Katherine Agnew created a similar proposal. In 2000, president Andrew Stith proposed adding a "Young Alumni Trustee," a recent graduate of Marquette meant to bring a youth perspective to the board.