Voters’ say on regents a splendid, necessary idea

Editor,

A golden, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for faculty and UNM is now before the Legislature in the form of a bipartisan proposed constitutional amendment (House Joint Resolutions 8 and 9) which would significantly change the way regents at UNM and NMSU are chosen.

We have an opportunity to gain a balanced Board of Regents and — most wonderfully — a faculty regent. To have a seat, voice and vote at the table that we built would be most welcomed, to say the least.

The proposed Board of Regents will have seven members. Three would be chosen in nonpartisan elections in each of the three congressional districts. Two would be chosen by the governor, based on a newly created vetting and nominating committee’s recommendations from the county where the main branch is located.

One would be a student regent appointed by the other regents from a list provided by the students’ governing body, and the seventh would be a faculty regent selected by the other regents from a list provided by the Faculty Senate. The student regent will serve for two years, the others for four years. No regent could serve for more than two consecutive terms.

This would be a balanced board. No group would have a majority, the state would be represented geographically, the public would elect some members, the governor would appoint some regents and the students and faculty would be represented. 

Currently, the governor appoints all regents. These are considered plum appointments. A past governor had regents give him their resignation letters while they were still serving so that he could dismiss them as he pleased. On the other hand, they could serve for as long as he wanted them to. This legislative proposal spreads the decision-making power to the governor, the public, the students, the faculty and the regents themselves. This seems appropriate for large public state universities such as UNM and NMSU.

A most important item is the new faculty regent. Innumerable times during the almost four decades I’ve been at UNM, faculty have wished for someone to represent them at the regents’ table.  To have no faculty presence on the Board of Regents makes no sense for an institution of higher learning of which the faculty is the very backbone.

By itself, a constitutional amendment providing for faculty regents would never be approved by the Legislature. However, gaining a faculty regent is now part of a bundled package of changing the composition of the board and making it more accountable to the public and faculty. The proposal before the Legislature is bipartisan, reasonable and has a chance of passing, whereupon, among other things, we can gain a faculty regent. If the legislators approve the proposed amendment, it will go to the voters for final approval.

Please be active in encouraging others to support this proposed legislation. Let your voice be heard. If it doesn’t happen now, this opportunity probably won’t come up for another academic lifetime.

Fred Hashimoto
UNM faculty