Yes, reform university governance process

Proposed legislation to change how regents are selected for New Mexico’s universities will go a long way in strengthening our state’s institutions.

Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, and Sen. Mark Moores, R-Albuquerque, have sponsored a constitutional amendment to create a bipartisan nomination committee to evaluate potential candidates for regent appointments.

The committee would screen individuals interested in serving as regents and those names would eventually go to the governor who would make her recommendations. The Senate would then confirm or reject the governor’s choices as is done in the current system.

These changes attempt to depoliticize regent selections and to make certain that regents possess the experience, knowledge and skills to fulfill their responsibilities. Other states have adopted such a system and, in many cases, the process has resulted in stronger board member selections and ultimately, stronger institutions of higher education. In the 2017 environment, simply having a personal or political relationship with someone does not make him or her a good choice to serve as a regent. That role is extremely complex these days and requires deep expertise in a variety of domains including, most notably, financial matters.

I strongly endorse the proposal and hope that it makes it through the Legislature and gets on a ballot where the people of New Mexico can make the final decision.

In addition to the proposed legislation, I believe it is time to take a broader look at university governance in our state. Here’s a few issues I think we should consider:

First, at some schools, like New Mexico Highlands University, five individuals serve on the boards of regents. I am not one to make things more complex than necessary, but having only five regents makes it virtually impossible for any functional board committees to be established. In other states, boards are often larger, thus allowing for committees focusing on finance, academic affairs, student affairs and others to do a lot of the heavy lifting and make recommendations to the full board at regularly scheduled meetings. This approach can save a lot of time and not require small boards to have marathon meetings where they devote much time to every agenda item. This approach can make full board meetings less time-consuming and still provide a full vetting of all important issues.

Second, I strongly recommend that boards include a faculty member and a staff member. The outcomes of any educational institution are largely predicted by the commitment, effectiveness and dedication of the people who work there. If those people are part of the decision-making process, outcomes tend to trend upward.

Finally, particularly at our regional institutions like Highlands, it would be a very good idea for boards to include representation from the local community. Schools like Highlands are anchors for their communities, and the historical town-gown issues between municipalities and universities need to be addressed in new ways. Here in our town, as goes Highlands, so goes Las Vegas. And vice versa.

Recently, a group of experts from around the state took a long look at the possibility of merging some boards governing our institutions of higher education. Not surprisingly, that notion did not get much support. Though state institutions of higher education “belong” to the state, many people interested in universities, especially regional schools, want some regional influence brought to bear on those schools.

Highlands is fortunate to be governed by a strong group of regents who are true servantleaders, but not every university president can honestly say the same. Let’s strengthen boards in New Mexico. Let’s make our institutions of higher education as strong as possible. Making changes in the selection of regents and board composition can do that.

Sam Minner is president of New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, N.M.