Board of Regents Work Session

Before I was elected to the Board of Regents, I was a little puzzled about the "work sessions" that are scheduled roughly a month before the quarterly meetings. Work sessions are used to accomplish a variety of things. The Board is required by state law to provide a fairly extensive orientation for new members, for example. And quite typically, major items for discussion and approval are reviewed prior to the quarterly meeting. Although Regents do not typically have much involvement in the day-to-day operations of the University, work sessions do allow them to ask questions and make suggestions on policies and other important initiatives.

Keep in mind that work sessions are public meetings. You are indeed welcome to attend any work session. Indeed I wish that at least a few faculty would attend every work session if at all possible. The President typically brings many of his cabinet members, and they are often asked questions and contribute to the discussion in various ways. I see no reason why faculty cannot contribute in the same sorts of ways. Senate Chair Cathy Thomas has been a regular attendee at work sessions and quarterly meetings, but I would love to see more of you attend, and indeed I think it would be very good for the Board to have more contact with faculty.

The next work session is Thursday, 19 February at 9:00 a.m. in the Riggle Room. Typically the work session lasts for several hours (but you should feel free to come and go as your schedule permits). I do not have an agenda at the present time for the upcoming meeting, but I am going to ask the President to comment on the Academic Program Audit process, since that important item will be on the agenda at the quarterly meeting in March.

Please note that the Regents will not be voting on the Academic Program Audit (more on that issue after I talk with the President). They will simply be briefed on the issue and will have the opportunity to ask questions and make comments. Once the results of the audit (and restructuring) are released, I am hopeful that there will be some opportunities to ask questions and to make comments directly to the administration. But, as always, feel free to contact me through the various channels, including this blog.

I hope your semester is off to a great start. The month of January seems particularly busy this year. Hang in there, and I'll try to do the same.

Ron