Vanderburgh, a 49-year-old Huber Heights native and Professor and Chair of the Health and Sport Sciences Department at the University of Dayton, has been the president for the past three years and is finishing his sixth year.
“There are no term limits (for) school boards, but I believe in setting my own term limits,” Vanderburgh said last week. “I think if elected officers stay in office for multiple terms, what can happen, (is) decisions can be made that are based on getting re-elected and not what’s best for the community.”
Vanderburgh, who received an engineering degree from West Point and an exercise physiology doctorate degree from Columbia University, moved to Oakwood in 1995 with his wife, Patty, and their two children — Ellen, now 20; and Joe, now 19.
He said he decided to run for a school board position in 2003 because he felt it was a good time to get involved with the school district. Plus, Vanderburgh said, “I had a real interest in education.”
He won the two-year seat left open by Nancy Dankof, who had taken a job with the school district, and also won a four-year term in 2005.
His advice to new board members is to not go in with an attitude that you are going to fix everything. He also said, “early on, it’s a steep learning curve. Listen a lot. Especially at the beginning (of your term) and ask a lot of questions and be very candid.”
When asked what he hopes his legacy on the board will be, Vanderburgh said, “I hope they’ll say that ... he had a positive affect on us being a better board, which means doing what boards are supposed to do and avoiding those things that boards are not supposed to do.”
His said his overall experience with the board has been great.
“The board is really good at expressing differences of opinions, yet reaching consensus,” Vanderburgh said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2414 or kwynn@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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