A student from the UA will fill some new shoes and be inducted into office as the next student regent this week.
Vianney Careaga will be the next voice of Arizona students across the state as the new student regent. Careaga, chosen by Gov. Doug Ducey last week, will serve on the Arizona Board of Regents.
More: Learn more about Student Regents and what they do in Naufel and Gorshe’s letter to the Daily Wildcat
The UA political science sophomore and Associated Students of the University of Arizona director of civic engagement will go through his confirmation process Wednesday, according to Michael Finnegan, chair of the Student Regent Selection Committee and ASUA 2016-2017 president-elect.
Each year the governor picks a new student regent on a rotating basis between UA, Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University. Student regents serve as the voice of students for the board, where many issues and decisions that affect Arizona’s three public universities are made.
Student regents serve two-year terms. Those currently on the board are Mark Naufel, serving for ASU, and Jared Gorshe, serving for NAU.
Naufel has the voting privileges for the board and will be graduating in the upcoming year. Next year the voting privileges will go to Gorshe and, the following year, to Careaga.
Finnegan said they’re all excited that one of the three candidates the committee sent in was chosen.
“The fact that [Gov.] Doug Ducey decided to cooperate with students is a big step in the right direction,” Finnegan said. “The most important thing is the students got a say in their student regent, as opposed to previous years.”
Finnegan said Careaga will appeal in front of the Education Committee on Wednesday. The committee will then appoint Ducey’s appointment and then the Arizona Senate will need to confirm the appointment as well.
Finnegan said the committee submitted its paperwork before Thanksgiving, about a month ahead of schedule, and was hoping to get a quick turnover, which didn’t happen.
“We just wanted to make sure that the governor’s office was looking really closely into the matter and making sure he reviewed all the candidates,” Finnegan said. “It does take some time and we know he is busy.”
Daniel Ruiz, director of Media Affairs at the Office of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, said there’s a lot that goes into appointing someone to a position and they take every appointment seriously.
“That means we want to interview all the qualified candidates and vet thoroughly to make sure we’re selecting the most qualified applicant,” Ruiz said.
Finnegan said in the past, the leaders of the College Republicans or the Young Democrats have been chosen based on party affiliations, but that the committee looks at candidates in a bipartisan way.
“I do hope that in the future it continues to go on, this tradition of the governor picking candidates that were picked by the students,” Finnegan said. “Instead of picking candidates that appeal to that governor’s party.”
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