The application pool for the next student regent on the Arizona Board of Regents closed last night, with a total of 15 applicants.

The applications, managed by the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, include students in a broad range of academic situations, including undergraduates, graduates, and law students, said ASUA Senator Emily Fritze, who chairs ASUA’s student regent selection subcommittee. 

The position, wherein the student regent holds all the rights and responsibilities of ABOR’s other regents, opened in early September for the first time in three years after the tenure of UA’s last student regent, David Martinez.

Fritze said the number of applicants was neither above nor below expectations, adding that the large responsibility and time commitment – two years – involved with the position make it so that very few students are willing to apply.

“”We’re basically only looking at the quality of applicants,”” as opposed to quantity, she said.

The next step in the process, Fritze said, will be for the ASUA selection subcommittee to narrow the applicant pool to three through a rigorous interview process. To secure the position, applicants will need the approval the Arizona Students Association (for which Martinez now serves as a campus organizer) and will eventually be handpicked by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.

ASUA will begin the selection process next week, Fritze said, and plans to have the three finalists confirmed by the end of November. After that, Brewer and will have a few months to select the student regent by summer, when term begins.

“”Hopefully they’ll have a decision by early spring,”” she said.