"Vote for Guro Busterud"

We are electing a new representative for temporary academic staff for the NTNU board, and the election opens today. The NTNU board will have important decisions to make in the time to come, dealing with the organization of the newly merged university as well as the relocation of campus. We need a strong and experienced representative more than ever, and I therefore urge you to vote for our current representative, Guro Busterud, to continue her excellent work.

Unlike the other internal employees in the board, who sit for four years, the candidate for temporary academic staff is elected for one year at the time. The main reason is that a longer period would make many potential candidates ineligible, seeing as their employment would end before the board period is over. In addition, few would be willing to spend time on anything besides their own research towards the end of their employment. This makes us very vulnerable as a group, as getting acquainted with the procedures of the board takes time, and our board representative will be less experienced. This comes on top of the fact that we are already a marginalized group with only one representative in the NTNU board.

Lucky for us, our current representative, Guro Busterud, is willing to continue in her position for another period. Both her current period and the upcoming one have been extended to 1,5 years, meaning we have the opportunity of having the same representative sit for 3 consecutive years. This is a gift we should take advantage of.

Guro has already proven to be a hardworking candidate who prepares well for board meetings and is not afraid to voice her opinions. This is evident for anyone who has followed the board’s work. In addition, she collaborates closely with DION and listens to the employees she is representing. She did her PhD her at NTNU and is now a postdoc, meaning she knows the situation and challenges of both groups intimately. These things alone make her an excellent candidate.

6% of the temporary academic staff voted in the previous election. Let’s do better this time, and let’s ensure that we get a skillful, conscientious and experienced representative who can voice our concerns as the groundwork for the new NTNU is laid down. Vote for Guro Busterud October 26-28!

- Maren Berg Grimstad, PhD candidate at the Department of Language and Literature and representative for temporary academic staff on the board of the Faculty of Humanities