Creation of council to recommend UH regents endorsed
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
Top national authorities on best practices in higher education have endorsed a Senate bill that would share power to appoint members of the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents between the governor and the Legislature by creating an advisory council to make recommendations.
"Nonpartisan advisory or nominating committees to recruit, screen and recommend board candidates — as embodied in Senate Bill 3125 proposed Senate Draft 2 — are an important tool to ensure that the best candidates are considered for these important positions," Richard Novak, a vice president of the nonpartisan Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, said in written testimony yesterday to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The committee plans to act on the bill today after a 9 a.m. hearing.
AGB serves as a resource for the nation's institutions of higher education, with a mission to enhance the effectiveness of citizen governing boards.
"We believe very strongly that governors should have the authority and privilege of appointing public university trustees and regents," said Novak's joint statement, with AGB members Tom Ingram and Jim Edgar. "But we also believe that independent screening bodies to assist with the nominating process to identify outstanding citizens is also very important."
Under the proposed bill, a Candidate Advisory Council would be created as part of the State Auditor's office, and this council would establish criteria and make recommendations to the governor for citizen appointments to the Board of Regents.
Such a council would have 12 members, with four each appointed by the president of the Senate, speaker of the House of Representatives and the governor. It also calls for two student members, one a UH undergraduate and one a UH graduate student.
The council would recruit qualified candidates for the board, and recommend at least four people for each of the 12 seats, and the governor would make the final selection from among the recommendations. Terms of six years would be designed on a staggered basis.
Many states, including Virginia, Minnesota, North Dakota and Massachusetts have adopted similar plans that are reportedly working well.
In North Dakota, for instance, an independent entity to govern higher education institutions was formed in 1938 after the governor fired the president of North Dakota State University and several faculty members, and the institution lost accreditation, according to Larry Isaak, president of the Midwest Higher Education Compact.
Even though the governor appoints seven of the eight members, an independent nominating committee makes the recommendations, Isaak said.
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
