With the current Undergraduate Student Trustee completing his term this year, the search for Kent State’s 2012-2014 student trustee is underway.

Being an undergraduate trustee gives students the opportunity to directly interact with Kent State’s Board of Trustees and participate in major university decisions, said Brady Ruffer, the current Undergraduate Student Trustee.

Ruffer said the position is a worthwhile one.

“It’s just a wonderful way to, first of all, get to know the administration — people that are making major decisions on campus,” Ruffer said. “There’s so much more that students and the general public don’t see. I’ve learned many great things.”

Ruffer’s adviser nominated him for the position — one he hadn’t heard of before.

“I filled out the application, and once I looked into it, it seemed like something I really wanted to do,” Ruffer said. “Being a social studies major, it fit right along with what I was doing and was something I was really interested in.”

Ruffer’s term ends with this school year, and he will serve as Chair of the Student Trustee Search Committee.

Students applying will need an application, résumé and three letters of recommendation — one from a personal source and two from Kent State sources.

Applications are available online or at room 250 in the Student Center. The deadline to nominate a student trustee is Wednesday. Complete applicant files are due April 5 by 5 p.m.

Ruffer said students should consider this position if they want a closer look at how the university works.

“You really make yourself aware about what’s happening at the university,” Ruffer said. “It gives you experience you can’t get anywhere else.”

Once the search committee chooses five students, the Governor’s Office will decide which of the five students will be appointed Undergraduate Student Trustee. The governor will specify the start of the new term, which ends May 16, 2014.

Contact Rex Santus at [email protected].