 "Photo: Jacob Naasz")
Ben Dower spent his first week as student regent of the UT System wondering if he was the victim of a cruel joke.
He received a call from an Austin area code telling him he'd become the first UTD student and the first undergraduate student regent for the UT System, but the caller instructed him to tell no one until the appointment was officially announced.
"I emailed the governor's office that week to verify I'd gotten the position, but they wouldn't give me a straight answer. It wasn't real, and I couldn't relax until I saw it on paper," Dower said.
The UT System educates more than 190,000 students at 15 schools across the state. Dower will act as their advocate on the governing body of the UT System when his term begins on June 1.
Dower said he will resign as chair of the UT System Student Advisory Council (UTSSAC), a group that advises UT regents on student issues. His new appointment will give him a unique opportunity to follow the progress of nine council recommendations he helped author as a council member last year.
One recommendation is to use UTD's course lookup system, which offers direct links to instructor evaluation scores, as the model for each school's online course catalog.
Dower is former president of student government (SG) and is currently SG legislative affairs chair. Patty Atchley, SG adviser, said Dower's appointment is "a triumph for UTD."
A May 22 orientation in Austin will prepare Dower for his term. He'll receive a loaner Blackberry to keep his schedule straight, he said. He plans to read up on previous meetings of the board to contextualize the more than 300 pages of reading material sent to regents before each meeting, Dower said.
Although Dower said he'll take issues as they come, he's particularly concerned with streamlining the transfer process for community college students.
"As tuition continues to go up, I expect to see more and more quality students spending a year or two at community colleges," Dower said. "We do a really good job with freshmen, but I think we can probably do better job integrating transfer students."
Dower plans to attend law school and will take the LSAT June 16. He said he's primarily focused on fulfilling the responsibilities of the position, but in the back of his mind, he knows the appointment may help him realize his future educational goals.
"If you've been a regent of the UT system, I think that helps your chances of getting accepted to UT Law," Dower said.
Dower said he met the first student regent, UT Law alumni and current McCain campaign finance chairman Brian Haley, when Haley visited UTD. He intends to confer with the current student regent, UT Houston medical school student Randal Matthew Camarillo, who frequented UTSSAC meetings this year, Dower said.
Camarillo, who graduates with a doctorate in medicine on May 31 and will remain at UT Houston for a residency in orthopedic surgery, said the student regent's main responsibility is to learn as much as possible about the UT system.
"The biggest challenge facing the board now is finding a successor for Chancellor (Mark) Yudof. It'll be a hard process to find the person who will fit perfectly for the UT System," Camarillo said.
Yudof became chancellor of the UT System in 2002. He will take office as president of the University of California June 16.
The student regent is not a voting member of the board, but Camarillo said the strength of his office comes from opportunities to communicate with presidents of schools, students and fellow regents.
"They've been great colleagues, very open-minded and welcoming… these people are very smart. They've been successful in business, or whatever job they've undertaken, so they came at things with different perspectives, offering perspectives I never would have thought about," Camarillo said.
Camarillo said Dower would bring a completely new perspective as an undergraduate,
"UTD should be delighted Ben was appointed to the position. It's a huge time commitment on Ben's part and the administration's part, and it will take him away from campus at times," Camarillo said. But it will be a great learning experience for him and for the campus. I think he'll do a great job."
Donna Rogers, dean of students, said the appointment is an honor for both Ben and UTD.
"It can only help UTD tell its story better. Ben loves the university and believes in its mission and its future," Rogers said. "I know he will be a great ambassador for all students in the UT System."
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