The results for the 2019 Board of Governors (BoG) student governor elections were released on March 6.
The BoG is Carleton’s highest decision-making body, and two undergraduate governors and two graduate governors are elected to represent the voices of students on the Board each year.
Elected undergraduate representatives for 2019-20 are Taylor Arnt, a third-year public affairs and policy management (PAPM) student and current undergraduate member of the BoG this school year, and Abdulwahab Alhaimi, a third-year engineering student.
Next year’s graduate representatives are Farima Afaq, current vice-president (academic) with the Graduate Students’ Association, and Jessica Fullerton, a graduate student in public policy and administration.
Student governors serve a one-year term and represent the interests of the entire student body.
Seven undergraduate and three graduate candidates ran in this year’s elections—a decline from the 12 candidates running last year.
Amanda Goth, the university secretary, said while the number of candidates may have declined, 10 students running in the elections “shows the commitment our students have to Carleton—its purpose, policies, governance, values and culture.”
“All positions are volunteer on our board and students being willing to serve the university in this capacity while completing their studies show a very strong commitment,” she said in an email.
The elections this year were also different because five candidates were female and five were male.
According to Goth, this may help with accessibility.
“Gender parity on the board is a priority for Carleton,” she said. “Having an equal number of males and females running illustrates that the positions on the board are equally accessible to all.”
Goth also said this year’s elections are important because incoming student governors will have the opportunity to work on the development of Carleton’s Strategic Integrated Plan for the next five to 10 years.
“Our student governors will have the opportunity to actively participate in its creation,” she said.
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