Of the 180,000 students who matriculate through the state universities in Arizona, only a slim few know what the Arizona Board of Regents is, despite it having a large say on their college experience. You might be one of those people wondering what exactly is the Arizona Board of Regents — and that’s a fair question. The Arizona Board of Regents is the governing board for the three in-state universities — Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona. Essentially, the board oversees large scale problems affecting the universities including issues like the cost of tuition, fees, development plans, strategic plans and most recently COVID reentry.

Here, we want to create an open line of communication between the students who make up the three public university systems and the two students who have the honor and privilege of representing them! We are incredibly passionate about representing the student perspective and we are always happy to chat about anything. Please feel free to reach out to either of us at any time, through this forum or through email. Moreover, we want to use this medium to share some of our perspectives on various student-facing issues affecting the universities. We hope to share an article a month, detailing an item that the board is discussing and its implications for students. While we plan on those being much more exciting, today’s article serves as an introduction to who we are and why we joined the board.

My name is Anthony Rusk, I am a rising senior at the University of Arizona studying Politics, Philosophy, Economics, and Law with minors in biochemistry and neuroscience. I was born and raised in rural Bullhead City, Ariz. When I came to the UA, I realized the vast educational gap between myself and my colleagues. Struggling in class after class, I decided that I wanted to be involved in education to understand how this transition affects students of all backgrounds. Since then, I have been dedicated to working on basic needs at the three universities and how to best equalize attainment rates across different minority backgrounds. Through those experiences, I have gained a thorough understanding of the ability that education has to provide social mobility for the most marginalized of society. In my first year on the board, I learned a significant amount and I am beyond excited to bring that experience to my voting year. When not working or studying, I love hiking, traveling and music.

My name is Nikhil Dave. I am a rising junior at Arizona State University’s Barrett, The Honors College, studying neuroscience and innovation in society. Having been raised in a household of two immigrant parents, I learned the value of learning and education at a young age. In high school, I became deeply interested in neuroscience, working in Alzheimer’s disease research for three and a half years. When college came around, I realized that I wanted to understand how scientific advances translate into societal impact. I joined the Luminosity Lab, Arizona State University’s interdisciplinary skunkworks research and development laboratory, focused on developing technological solutions to society’s most complex challenges. From this experience, I witnessed the power of thinking and collaborating across disciplines. I am incredibly excited to bring my diverse interdisciplinary background and passion for learning to the Arizona Board of Regents, to represent the voices of the learners themselves within Arizona’s three public university systems. In my free time, I also enjoy traveling, particularly to unfrequented parts of the world, as well as listening and playing music.

We’re looking forward to serving you all in this capacity and hearing your concerns. Till our next blog post, welcome aboard.

Editor’s Note: This post was also run on the Arizona Board of Regents blog.