Student Trustees
The University of New England offers an unusual opportunity for two students each year to serve as full voting members of the University's Board of Trustees, attending all regular trustee meetings. As such, they provide a connection between all of our student populations and the Board, and have real input on this overarching governing body which guides the future of UNE. Student Trustees not only provide student perspective to the Board, they also build connections between and within each campus through their work with all student government organizations.
2011-2012 Student Trustees
Two students who have been selected as Student Trustee will serve as Student Trustees for the 2011-2012 academic year.
The Representative Council (a committee comprised of the two current Student Trustees along with selected leaders of the three UNE student government organizations) recommended Brandon Hotham to be the Student Trustee for the Biddeford Campus and Alexandra Malinowski to be the Student Trustee for the Portland Campus. Following a process of peer evaluation, professional references, and a formal interview with the Representatives Council, the two candidates were recommended to the Board of Trustees and approved as Student Trustees-Elect at the meeting on March 12, 2011.
Beginning after the May meeting of the Board of Trustees, these two students will have full voting privileges on the University of New England Board of Trustees.
The role of the Student Trustee provides an enhanced student perspective to the Board and facilitates interactions between and within each campus. In order to accomplish this goal, Brandon and Alex received training from the two former Student Trustees, John Johnson, Jr., second year College of Osteopathic Medicine student representing the Biddeford Campus, and Emily Bourret, second-year College of Pharmacy student representing the Portland Campus, for the remainder of the year to assist in their transition.
Brandon Hotham '12 - Biddeford Campus
Brandon Hotham is a well-known leader on the Biddeford Campus. A member of the undergraduate Class of 2012, Brandon is double majoring in Psychology and English and Language Studies. He was selected and has served as a Resident Advisor (RA) for two years, and as a film maker/web designer for the Department of English and Language Studies. He has been an actor and production worker for the UNE Players, an Undergraduate Student Government representative, an Orientation Leader and Editor-In-Chief of the Nor’easter News, UNE’S student newspaper. He is a Dean’s List student who has received numerous awards. His stated goals as a Student Trustee include strengthening connections between College student populations and increasing student awareness of the important role of the Board of Trustees.
Alexandra Malinowski '14 - Portland Campus
Alexandra Malinowski, member of the Class of 2014 in the College of Pharmacy, graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Biology and Chemistry. She has worked at Childrens Hospital Boston as a Sterile Products and Investigational Drug Specialty Technician and is a nationally certified Pharmacy Technician. During her undergraduate years she served as a Training Coordinator for Walgreens Corporation. Alex wasted no time in assuming leadership roles at UNE including that of Class Treasurer on the Executive Board of the College of Pharmacy Class of 2014 and co-chairing the “Generation Rx” program of the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists. As a student trustee, Alex hopes to improve collaborative education and experience in the classroom and in the community between interdisciplinary health professions.
Both Alex and Brandon are looking forward to their roles in representing students, strengthening connections across UNE’s colleges, and participating in the planning and decision-making processes for the University.
2010-2011 Student Trustees
Emily M. Bourret '13 - Portland Campus
Emily Bourret, from Portland, Maine, has recently completed her first year as a student in the College of Pharmacy and serves as vice president of membership for UNE’s chapter of the American Pharmacists Association – Academy of Student Pharmacists. While studying for her Bachelor of Science at the University of Vermont, Emily served as an officer in multiple student organizations and councils, specifically responsible for finance and risk management. Her goals as a Student Trustee are to “help our academic programs advance and evolve so they remain at the forefront of their disciplines, while holding true to the ideals and mission of the university” and second to “promote initiatives that allow for increased interdisciplinary unity with all related programs.”
John A. Johnson, Jr. '13 – Biddeford Campus
John (JJ) Johnson, from Andover, Massachusetts, is a second year student in the College of Osteopathic Medicine where he is president of the Class of 2013. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree with majors in Biology and Psychology, magna cum laude, from Syracuse University. While at Syracuse JJ was one of only eight undergraduates in the Northeast to be awarded an American Heart Association Summer Research Fellowship. As a student trustee he will strive to “preserve the unique community that attracted [him] to UNE.” He has stated that he would like to return to UNE to teach following his graduation, and thus feels that it would be “an honor to provide the voice that contributes not only to our University’s present, but also to its future.”