2008-2009 Board of Trustees Standing Committee Representatives:
More information about the responsibilities of each committee and the election process are available here.
A list of past representatives to the Board of Trustees Standing Committees is available here.
Faculty, Graduate, and Professional Schools Affairs (Formerly Academic Affairs)
Gautham Pandiyan is a 4th year PhD Candidate in Molecular Cancer Biology who hails from Chennai, India. This will be his second year serving on the Faculty, Graduate, and Professional Schools Affairs committee. He also serves as a GPSC Representative, and has served on the GPSC Executive Board as well as the Young Trustee Screening Committee.
Zhizhong Li is a 3rd year Ph.D. candidate in the Molecular Cancer Biology program. He came to Duke after he got his bachelor degree in China and has served as the President of Duke Chinese Students and Scholars Association from 2007-2008.
Business and Finance
Ishtiaq Ali Saaem is a Ph.D. student in the department of Biomedical Engineering. He is currently in the second year of his graduate studies. Originally from Bangladesh, Ali came to Duke after completing his undergraduate studies in NYU and Stevens Institute of Technology. This will be his second year serving on the Business and Finance committee.
Jim McDonald will graduate from the School of Law in 2009. Jim received his A.B. in Economics and Government from Bowdoin College in 2005. He is from Denver, Colorado and plans on returning west after graduation. He works as a Graduate Resident on Duke's East Campus, overseeing Aycock and Epworth Residence Halls.
Building and Grounds
Pae Wu is a 5th year Ph.D. student in Electrical Engineering who is originally from Raleigh, NC. This will be Pae’s second year serving on the Buildings and Grounds committee.
Justin Jaworski was born May 28, 1981 and grew up in Tampa, FL. He first matriculated to Duke in 1999, where he has pursued degrees in mechanical engineering (Pratt '03, MS '06) and is in his fourth year of PhD study. Justin is active in graduate student leadership within the mechanical engineering department and was recently awarded the 2008 Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Justin is also engaged with the choral arts at Duke and has sung with the Duke University Chapel Choir, Chorale, and Vespers ensembles.
Institutional Advancement
Alethea Duncan is a 3rd year Chemistry PhD Candidate studying organometallic chemistry in the Widenhoefer Group. She is originally from Trinidad & Tobago and did her undergraduate studies at the Johns Hopkins University. She will be serving the graduate and professional community as President of the Graduate & Professional Student Council for the 2008-2009 academic year.
Julie Roy is a 7th year Graduate Student in Molecular Cancer Biology. Her family is originally from Connecticut, but she grew up overseas as her father was enlisted in the US Air Force. She is a “Double-Dukie”, having received her BS in Biology and English from Trinity College in 1999. She is also a former Duke Employee, having worked as a Research Analyst before attending Graduate School. She has served as the GPSC Community Service Coordinator for the past two years.
Medical Center Affairs
Benson Okeiyi is a first year medical student hailing from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He majored in Biomedical Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He looks forward to working with the board during arguably the most important period of the Duke University's Medical Center history to date.
Undergraduate Student Affairs (Formerly Student Affairs)
Jessi Bardill is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of English, entering her 4th year in the program. She was born in Nashville, TN and grew up in Kennesaw, GA. Her undergraduate years were spent at Emory University in Atlanta, GA as an English and Biology double major. Currently, she is involved with the Native American Student Alliance, and she taught a course this Spring in the University Writing Program. Both of these activities connect her to undergraduates and their experiences at Duke, which she can compare and contrast with her alma mater.
David Kahler is a third year Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering, concentration in Hydrology and Fluid Dynamics. He is originally from Weston, Massachusetts, completed his B.A. at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs and M.S. at Cornell University. He volunteers with Special Olympics and the Boy Scouts. At Duke David served as Treasurer of the Graduate and Professional Student Council for two years and has been active on the Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee.