The Board of Visitors announced its newly chosen student member and discussed the proposed School of Public Health at its final session of the month Friday.
First-year Law student Carey Mignerey was selected during last week's executive session to serve as the Board's student member for the upcoming year.
Born in Atlanta, Mignerey received his bachelor's in government and foreign affairs from the University in 2004. As an undergraduate, Mignerey, was a Jefferson Scholar, a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and served as the Honor Committee chair in his fourth year.
After graduating, Mignerey worked for McKinsey & Co., a consulting firm in Atlanta, for two years before returning for law school. He currently serves as a counselor for the University Judiciary Committee.
"The thing that attracted us to Carey was that he had gone here as an undergraduate and returned for his graduate degree, so he brings a perspective from both the programs that we feel will be useful," Rector Tom Farrell said.
According to current student Board member Lizzie Mullen, the role of the student member is to act as a fully functioning but non-voting member of the Board and to represent the student perspective in a broad sense.
"They are very anxious to have a gauge of not only the student perspective but a unique view of the student experience, and how any decisions impact that experience," Mullen said.
Once he assumes his role, Mignerey said he hopes to concentrate on "maintaining quality and tradition as the University grows, putting the ideal diversity into practice, providing a safe environment for students and paying for all of this without making U.Va. unaffordable."
In an attempt to connect with the entire student body instead of just with graduate students, Mignerey said he plans "to invest a lot of time and effort to understand how undergraduates feel about issues today."
After the Board's April meeting, Mignerey will replace Mullen, who he said "has taken the position of student member to new levels."
Also discussed at the Board's final session was a proposal for a professional School of Public Health, presented by Medical School Dean Tim Garson.
"Public health is about trying to provide the best treatment for every population across disparities and providing for overall health of the entire public from threats like infection, bad water, smoking or obesity," Garson said.
The school is in the early stages of planning and would need sufficient funding before the proposal could go through the University's approval process, Farrell said.
During last week's meeting, the Board also passed several committee resolutions including the creation of a Master of Science in Commerce degree, which will now await approval from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The Board will meet again April 12.
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