Des Moines Register
03-17-07
A fresh start for regents
Given the mess the Iowa Board of Regents made in trying to hire a new
University of Iowa president, you might think few people would want to serve on it
right now.
But it turns out there were more than 50 applicants for the four positions Gov.
Chet Culver filled Thursday. He chose former Iowa Attorney General Bonnie
Campbell, Farm Bureau President Craig Lang, Hall-Perrine Foundation President
Jack Evans and David Miles of Countryside Renewable Energy.
A lot of other big names didn't make the cut. They include Dr. Andrea McGuire,
running mate of one of Culver's rivals for the Democratic gubernatorial
nomination, William Krause, chairman of Kum & Go, and retired Pioneer Hi-Bred
executive Richard McConnell.
All the interest says a lot about how much Iowans value the University of Iowa,
Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa, which are governed
by the nine-member board. The board also oversees the Iowa Braille and Sight
Saving School in Vinton and the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs.
Hiring university presidents is just one of the board's duties. The search for a
replacement for David Skorton, who left Iowa City to head Cornell University last
summer, was relaunched after regents voted in November to reject four finalists.
Other responsibilities include approving academic programs, budgets and tuition.
The board also oversees the schools' strategic plans.
The regents are caretakers for three higher-education gems, which educate
young Iowans and students from all over the world and serve as engines of
economic development for the entire state.
The regents' secret meetings and behind-the-scenes maneuvering during the
aborted presidential search were an affront to the strong sense of pride and
ownership that Iowans have in their universities.
Culver chose not to retain two regents who had sought reappointment, saying it
was time for "a fresh start." The appointments must be approved by two-thirds of
the Iowa Senate, or 34 of 50 votes.
The newly constituted Board of Regents must conduct the public's business with
the openness befitting governance of three great public universities. If the board
does that, there's no reason it can't steady itself and nurture further excellence at
the universities - and Iowans' pride in their schools.