Studying for finals and packing for Summer Break are only part of junior Nicole Vauter's checklist for this week.
As a student member of the Board of Trustees and a triple business major, Vauter is also getting ready for a two-week study abroad trip to Sao Paulo and Rio De Janiero to learn about business models in South America.
Each week, she works 10 hours at a fellowship through the Miller College of Business and six hours at the circulation desk at Bracken Library. Between these obligations and her other leadership roles on campus, Vauter said she has little time to do the other things she enjoys — photography, golf, tennis and bowling.
On Monday, she had a mini-photo shoot at Minnetrista with some friends.
"I like photography because it's something I can do on the fly," she said.
It's been a big year for the Board of Trustees — approving $15.2 million in budget cuts and a new, staggered student meal plan in the past year.
For Vauter, it's offered insight to how a board operates.
She'll miss the upcoming board meeting because in early May for her field study. It should be a pretty low-key meeting, she said, mainly addressing faculty and personnel issues, such as raises and sabbaticals.
Vauter's term started in July. She said she applied for the position as student member of the board through an Alumni Relations call-out session. The application process consisted of interviews with Student Government Association and then with one of Gov. Mitch Daniels' assistants.
She said she remembers feeling nervous at the prospect of meeting the governor for her interview.
"I walked up to the desk, and I said I had a meeting with the governor," Vauter said. "[The secretary] just looked at me, and then he told me I was going to meet with one of his assistants. I was kind of disappointed, but my nerves went out the window."
Vauter said she believes her role as a student member of the Board of Trustees is universal.
"This position is like being a liaison between students and the administration," she said. "I need to be a representative for all Hoosiers and an advocate not only for Ball State's mission, but for the state."
She said she has to remain open-minded and look at the big picture of serving Indiana. Unlike the SGA slate, which represents the student body, Vauter said her role is to represent students, faculty and staff.
"I welcome ideas, but I have to make sure what we're doing is promoting the Strategic Plan and the big mission of Ball State," she said.
Thomas DeWeese, president of the Board of Trustees, said Vauter has the same responsibilities as other members of the board.
"Trustees have the responsibility of being in charge of anything and everything to do with the university," he said.
He said she's done a great job as a student representative, but the significance can't be measured from person to person.
"She hasn't been on the board very long," he said. "It would be more of a collective impact than singling out one trustee over another. That would be the same for any of us."
Vauter said she believes the administration handled the budget cuts efficiently.
"They have some really, really hard decisions to make," she said. "The university was trying to cut money even before the projections. Keep in mind, they have to balance offering a 21st-century education and accessibility [affordability of going to Ball State]."
In regards to the new varied prices for room and board rates, she said she thinks students will be receptive. She said the final project is a good reflection of the decision process the board uses.
Vauter said that at first her role as student member of the board seemed overwhelming.
"The task [seemed] enormous," she said. "But I got to meet with vice presidents, and I knew there were so many people that were going to help me."
As a finance, risk management and economics major, she said it is interesting to see how different board members take care of their own businesses and companies.
"You can see the personal side of people who are so high up in the company," she said.
She said the biggest chunk of time is devoted to reading the board packets, and she gets a small stipend for each meeting she attends.
In her interactions with university administrators, Vauter said she came to realize how much time they put into projects and research before the proposals are passed. She said in their research for a new degree program, President Jo Ann Gora and her cabinet analyzed data and how it might be successful.
"They do an ungodly amount of work," she said. "It surprised me how much data and research they do to keep everything going and keep people happy."
Vauter said she hopes she can say in July 2011, when her term is up, that she made a difference.
"I'd like to be able to look back and be confident that I represented students successfully," she said.
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