The University Board of Visitors appointed a new student member to its ranks on Saturday.
Third-year College student John Rocco Macmillan Rodney, whose formal responsibilities as a Board member will begin at the end of the Board's April meeting, will succeed fourth-year College student H. Timothy Lovelace as the sole student voice on the Board, which is the governing body of the University.
The student representative to the Board is a non-voting position.
Rodney said his interest in the Board stems from the special opportunity it presents.
"I applied for the unique opportunity to represent a large and diverse group of students," Rodney said. "I wanted to get to the source of where big decisions are made at the University."
In selecting their student peer, Board Secretary Alexander "Sandy" Gilliam Jr. said it sought an individual who is well connected, but not necessarily the candidate who has the longest list of activities.
The question was "are they plugged in to the point where the board can rely on what they say?" Gilliam said.
A student committee selected Rodney from a pool of 38 applicants from a variety of graduate and undergraduate schools -- a larger number than usual. The committee included the heads of Student Council, minority advocacy groups and the Honor and Judiciary committees.
Eleven of those candidates were invited to interview for the position last Sunday and of those 11, five finalists were chosen to interview before the Board's executive committee.
Rodney's appointment was finalized Saturday with a public vote at the close of the board meeting.
Rodney, who is both a Jefferson and an Echols scholar, is involved with Madison House tutoring, Honor counseling, surgical oncology research, the varsity football team, the Virginia Society for the Recruitment of Special Scholars and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
According to Gilliam, while all of the finalists presented an impressive range of activities, Rodney was "the best of the group."
Board member Gordon Rainey Jr., who met and interviewed Rodney on Thursday, said he found him "particularly thoughtful and articulate" and said he expects him to be a "great resource" to the Board.
Now that he has been appointed, Rodney said he plans on using his current school-wide activities as pipelines for student interest and priority. He also said he plans to visit other organizations in order to find out which issues students believe are relevant.
"The role of the student member is to be a reminder and an advocate of the original purpose of the University -- the betterment of young men and women," Rodney said.
Though Rodney cannot vote, he has all other rights and privileges of a Board member and the ability to sit in on all executive sessions.
According to Gilliam, the student member also sits on the student affairs and athletics committee, one of eight standing committees responsible for overseeing particular aspects of the University.
"We value very highly the student member's insight on all student issues," said Rainey, current chairman of the student affairs and athletics committee.
As a member of the committee, Rodney said he will make "a strong effort to get underrepresented groups' voices heard."
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