Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill adding two members to Fort Lewis College’s Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees will now have nine voting members and one faculty and student representative.

The bill also adds a requirement that at least one trustee be an enrolled member of a federally recognized Native American tribe. Previously, no more than two members could be residents of Southwest Colorado, but now at least two members shall reside in Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma or San Juan counties.

“The students at Fort Lewis College deserve to have a Board of Trustees who reflect their diversity,” said state Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango, who sponsored the bill with state Sen. Don Coram, R-Montrose.

The two new members will be appointed and begin serving by Sept. 1.

In January, Polis appointed Durango local Meredith Mapel as an FLC trustee after one of the two local members’ terms expired in December 2019. She joined trustee and former state Sen. Ellen Roberts as a Southwest Colorado representative.

Roberts sees the addition of more regional trustees as a way to better represent the community.

“Adding two more committed trustees to FLC’s already wonderful, but small, board is a real boost to expanding trustee capacity and diversity,” Roberts said. “This is a welcomed opportunity to have more local representation on the board as well as having a dedicated Native American seat so that the trustees’ collective backgrounds more closely match those of our amazing students, faculty, administration and staff.”

parmijo@durangoherald.com