Saint Mary’s College Board of Trustees will have seven new members this year, as announced in a June 11 press release. The newly introduced group includes Saint Mary’s alumnae Christina Calhoun Augustine ‘96, Mollie Meehan Baumer ’90, Candace L. Novak Sabers ’96, Princess Mae Dela Rosa Visconde ‘18, rising Saint Mary’s senior Angelina Stupak and David M. Jones, a Saint Mary’s dad and Notre Dame graduate.
26 previous members remain on the board. Board members emeritus Rev. Paul V. Kollman and Anaís Y. Juliano ’25 completed their tenure on the board on May 31.
The Board of Trustees consists of a group of faculty, alumnae and community members chosen because their work has impacted Saint Mary’s. The group helps to facilitate important decision-making processes throughout the College.
Stupak, the only Saint Mary’s student trustee, explained the Board's responsibilities include overseeing the hiring of high profile staff and implementing important policies and actions such as the remodeling of buildings.
Stupak learned about the student trustee position via an email sent by Noelle Warren, executive administrative assistant of student affairs, regarding qualifications to join the board, which included GPA, student involvement and general portfolio requisites.
“It's a very rare position. Very few colleges have a student trustee and so that was even more frightful to know that there's a lot of value in the position. I came back to campus [from her London study abroad program] and I talked to my boss in admissions, I talked to a few of my professors and I expressed my interest, essentially seeking their validation,” Stupak said.
She described that her connection and dedication to the Saint Mary’s community was crucial to highlight in her application, touching on her job as a student ambassador at the office of admissions, which helped her get to know a diverse group of the student body and gain a deeper understanding of the needs and interests of different students.
She shared that during board proceedings, she “might not make the decision that you're happy with,” but will rather be “making the decision that will benefit everybody in the long run.”
She is hoping to increase strong communication between the trustees and leadership boards on campus in order to create stronger connections. She hopes to be involved with meetings of both larger organizations and smaller clubs across campus to learn more about them, their mission and how the trustees can better assist them.
“On behalf of the board, I would also really like to facilitate a partnership, or a friendship, between the board and students and I want the board to be a resource to students in a way that they haven't been before. All of our board members have skills and talents and experiences in a range of different things and I think that a lot of that can benefit our students,” Stupak said.
She is excited for this position and the opportunity to make students better informed about how she serves them.
“I think the more that students are aware that we have this kind of connection, the more that we can enact change and the better our community, our campus and our college can be,” Stupak stated.
She hopes to utilize her understanding of Saint Mary’s Student Government Association (SGA) from her time as the social concerns committee chair to grow understanding of the function of SGA amongst trustees, who sit in on SGA meetings. She hopes to encourage new committee chairs to embrace new ideas and build their own legacy in SGA.
On Oct. 14, she will be hosting an AI seminar with fellow trustee Augustine to help students and community members learn about the ethics of AI, its effect on higher education and how to properly use it. During the spring semester, she will help to plan the first blessing of the ring ceremony for juniors receiving their class rings.
