The Minnesota Daily recently appointed Kevin Nicholson, a political science junior from Milwaukee, as its 2000-01 Board of Directors president.
Nicholson, who currently lives in Washington, D.C., will return to Minneapolis and start his term in July.
“This is a huge opportunity,” Nicholson said. “The Daily is one student service that provides a sense of community to the University.”
He moved to Washington, D.C., last fall to work as the president of the College Democrats of America. His term will end three days before he starts at the Daily.
Nicholson does not anticipate any conflict arising from his political affiliation.
“Yes, I have a political affiliation. So do most people,” Nicholson said. “You leave that behind when you walk through the doors of the Daily.”
Nicholson has held jobs at other nonpartisan organizations, such as serving as the chairman of the University Student Services Fees committee.
“The Daily has gone to great lengths to make sure that there are no violations of our conflict-of-interest policy,” said Julia Grant, the newspaper’s incoming editor in chief.
She said the board of director’s president has no link or influence on the Daily’s editorial content and its newsroom.
Grant also said Nicholson will no longer be an active member of the College Democrats of America when he starts at the Daily; he will be an alumnus.
“(Nicholson) will bring an outside perspective on how to better the organization as far as when it comes to long-term planning, fund raising and trying to find stability for the organization,” Grant said.
Nicholson’s main goal for the Daily is to achieve the highest possible editorial quality and increase advertisement revenues, working closely with the Daily’s editor in chief, business manager and their staffs.
“This is an opportunity for me to help the Daily, to benefit both its employees and its readership with better services and development,” Nicholson said.
The Board of Directors is composed of 15 people. Four University students, five professional members, the editor in chief and the business manager are the only voting members. The board president, who also must be a University student, only votes when a tie occurs.
The other three members — representatives from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Carlson School of Management and the Campus Involvement Center — are nonvoting members.
The board president’s role is to oversee the areas of planning, communication and training, said JoAnn Koob, the board’s current president.
This year, the Daily’s board of directors was restructured, resulting in the creation of the Office of the Publisher, composed of the editor in chief, business manager and board president.
The Office of the Publisher will work as a “mini-board,” enabling decisions to be made more quickly and by the people who work more closely to the Daily than board members, Koob said.
“(Nicholson) has an incredible experience in all of the areas that the board president is responsible for,” Koob said. “I think he has a great opportunity to add new insights.”

Fabiana Torreao covers the St. Paul campus and welcomes comments at [email protected].