A University of California Board of Regents special committee has nominated UC San Diego doctoral student Hayley Weddle as the 2019-20 student regent, UC announced today (June 25).
Credit: John Weng
The Board of Regents will vote on the recommendation at its July meeting. If approved, Weddle will become the 45th student regent since the position was established in 1975. She will then serve as the student regent-designate for the coming year, able to participate in all deliberations. She will have voting privileges when her one-year term begins in July 2019.
“Serving the university and its students is an incredible honor, and I am committed to ensuring that decisions of the university are informed by students' experiences,” Weddle said. “I am dedicated to promoting policies and initiatives that ensure students across the state have the opportunity to attend and thrive at UC.”
Weddle graduated summa cum laude with dual bachelor’s degrees in sociology and economics from UC Santa Barbara, and earned a master’s in postsecondary educational leadership from San Diego State University. She is expected to complete her doctorate in education studies in spring 2021.
Weddle is currently the chief of staff for the UC San Diego Graduate Student Association. She is also the co-chair of the UC San Diego Basic Needs Committee, which develops strategies to address student food and housing insecurity. Weddle additionally serves as a member of UC’s systemwide Student Advisory Board, providing student and campus perspective on recommendations and discussions about Title IX policies, procedures and support for the UC community.
Previously, Weddle served as an adviser and operations manager for the Associated Students of UC San Diego and as a member of UC San Diego’s Student Fee Advisory and Community Standards boards. She also sat on an advisory board for the opening of a new K-8 school in the greater San Diego area, recommending curriculum and best practices to address gender identity, sexual orientation and sexual harassment issues.
“As a Ph.D. student studying transformative practices in education, I am trained to approach issues from an equity lens, evaluating how students from historically underserved backgrounds will be supported by policies and initiatives,” Weddle said. “I look forward to leveraging my academic training and advocacy experiences to serve all UC students.”
As student regent, Weddle wants to address issues that include housing affordability, food insecurity, and sexual violence and harassment, with a special focus on aspects that affect vulnerable groups such as students of color, former foster youth and LGBTQ students.
This year’s special committee to select a student regent was chaired by Regent Gareth Elliott, and included Regents Maria Anguiano, Fran Mancia, Paul Monge and Charlene Zettel.
This year, 40 students from across UC applied for the student regent position. In accordance with regents policy, the committee interviewed three finalists after the UC Student Association interviewed 10 semifinalists.
The policy on the appointment of the student regent is available here.