The Faculty Senate approved a resolution Tuesday that it hopes could radically change the way university regents are chosen at New Mexico institutions. For the last year, a faculty task force under the Senate Operations Committee developed a new process for the selecting regents. Faculty Senate President Richard Wood said faculty’s input on regent selection is invaluable.
“The regents need to understand the internal realities of the University, and the faculty needs to insist on academically driven decision making with faculty input,” Wood said.
As proposed, the University would form a committee on regent appointments when the UNM Board of Regents has a vacancy. The committee will then identify eight to 10 exemplary faculty and community members who represent diverse ethnic/racial, socio-economic, political and academic backgrounds.
The selection process must be approved by the faculty senates at all three New Mexico universities before it can be adopted by the governor, but UNM’s senate was the first to endorse it.
Wood said during Tuesday’s meeting, which was the Faculty Senate’s first meeting of the semester, that the regent selection process in place now doesn’t take into consideration the administration and faculty’s concerns, since the governor nominates all regent candidates.
“That sounds like an awesome power, but the trouble is if you’re the new governor, it leaves you completely exposed to whoever has power over you and wants to be a regent,” he said. “We think a research university needs a more careful decision making process. … This institution needs a different direction, and we as a faculty need a different kind of engagement with the university. And frankly, New Mexico needs a really thriving research university that is built by faculty, regents and administration coming together and serving the academic mission.”
Pamela Pyle, a member of the Faculty Senate’s operations committee, said not everyone is in favor of abandoning the current system.
“I actually spoke with a regent last year and asked him if he thought there needed to be a different criteria for regents rather than just sort of haphazardly (picking them), she said. “And he said, ‘Absolutely not,’”
But the move has the backing of Gov. Bill Richardson. Richardson is expected to endorse the proposal as early as today, according to a memo sent to all Faculty Senate members by the Senate Operations Committee.
