Students have likely heard of UNM President Louis Caldera, but raise your hand if you know his boss, the Board of Regents.
Regents are appointed by the governor, and they can almost never be fired. It takes a hearing in the State Supreme Court for them to be dismissed, and that only happens if they've been accused of "incompetence, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office," according to the state constitution.
Regents aren't paid, though they can be reimbursed for travel.
Regents establish many of the policies at UNM, in addition to determining how the University's money is spent.
All regents, except for the student regent, are appointed for six-year terms. The student regent is appointed for two years. The board doesn't undergo a complete turnover every six years, because their terms are staggered.
Yesterday was the first regents meeting for regents Raymond Sanchez and Rosalyn Nguyen, who the state senate confirmed in January.
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Why should you care about the regents?
* Regents set tuition.
* Regents select the
president of the University.
* Regents approve all
construction projects on campus, including how much we spend on them and who is chosen to do the work.
* Regents approve all degree programs.
* Regents control the University's budget, including faculty and staff pay and department spending.
* Regents establish what UNM's legislative priorities are.
What have the regents done lately? Here's just some of the highlights:
Dec. 14 - Approved a Native American studies bachelor's degree.
Nov. 16 - Established UNM's nine
legislative priorities.
Nov. 9 - Added a voting staff and voting faculty member to the Academic Affairs Committee.
Nov. 4 - Got President Caldera's goals in writing.
Oct. 12 - Changed the University's policy of only considering price
factors when looking at bidders for
construction contracts.
Sept. 21 - Gave Caldera a $25,000 bonus and a 5 percent salary raise.
Sept. 14 - Approved a master of fine arts program for creative writing.
April 13 - Increased tuition by 12.8
percent
How you can get involved:
* Swing by student regent Rosalyn Nguyen's office, room 1061 in the SUB, or call her at 277-7539.
* Attend open sessions of regents meetings, every second Tuesday of the month in the SUB Ballroom. The March meeting will be on the second Monday.
* People can place an item on the regents agenda by submitting a letter to the board president through Caldera. The letter has to be submitted at least two working days before the scheduled meeting. Regents President Jamie Koch and Caldera make the final decisions about what goes on the agenda.
