Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the Oregon Senate’s confirmation decision.

Taliek Lopez-DuBoff, a junior at the University of Oregon, was nominated by Governor Tina Kotek to become a student representative on the University’s Board of Trustees and was confirmed by the Oregon Senate on Wednesday.

The Board of Trustees is made up of 14 elected volunteers, two of which are undergraduate student representatives. Trustees have general responsibility over both big and small matters involving the school, focusing heavily on financial management and decision making.

It was only recently required by state law for there to be two student representatives on the Board, which Lopez-DuBoff believes is highly beneficial. Student representative trustees hold the same vote as other trustees, but bring a student perspective to decision making that faculty and non-faculty might not have. 

Student representative trustees are confirmed by the Oregon Senate just like other trustees, and nominees like Lopez-DuBoff aren’t officially trustees until the Senate Committee on Rules and Executive Appointments vote on appointments.

“A lot of the time these other trustees have full-time jobs. This is more of a volunteer thing for them, so they’re not here on campus everyday. All the decisions they’re making are going to impact students, so to have two student trustees is incredibly important. Otherwise, there isn’t anyone there that’s getting impacted,” Lopez-DuBoff said.

As a junior in college, Lopez DuBoff has already built a lengthy resume of civic duty, serving as an Oregon delegate at the Democratic National Convention during the 2024 election, and as an ASUO senator for two years. Over the summer, he interned at the House of Representatives.

“I think my dad’s been a big inspiration. Funny enough, he’s never been interested in politics or anything like that, but it was in the things he would do for other people,” Lopez-DuBoff said. “He’s a contractor, and he said, ‘When you get more materials, you don’t build a higher fence, but a longer table.’”

Lopez-DuBoff has already begun brainstorming ways to personally connect with students on all University of Oregon campuses.

“A lot of the time I think our Portland campus and Charleston campus on the coast are forgotten about, so I’m going to go to some of the research labs and see where the university is at, because I think being in these spaces is how you earn trust and get things done.”

Trust between student representatives and the students they represent is Lopez-DuBoff’s biggest hope. 

“I have students that are like, ‘I have this issue and I don’t know who to talk to’, and every month you get an email from a student trustee saying ‘Come chat, what can we help with?’ But there’s no trust there to begin with to talk, so I think that’s where we need to start.”

Lopez-DuBoff testified in front of the Committee on Monday and was confirmed on Wednesday.

“At the University of Oregon, we fly with our own wings, but none of us truly fly alone,” Lopez-DuBoff said during his testimony. “We depend on the commitments of one another and the willingness of the state to invest in its future. I believe with all of my heart that when we invest in education, we invest not only in students, but the destiny of Oregon itself.”

Following his confirmation, Lopez-DuBoff said he is honored and looks forward to working with his colleagues on the board.

“This is not a responsibility I take lightly. While I serve as a student, I accept this role as a trustee, entrusted with the duty to safeguard and strengthen our university,” he said. “My concern is not only for the students, faculty, and staff who walk our campus today, but for those who will come after us, who will inherit what we choose to build.”