Though the UC Board of Regents is not involved in the everyday
operations of the UC system, students at UCLA are affected every
day by the decisions handed down by this board.
Acting as the governing body of the entire UC system, the
regents are members of a board endowed with the “full powers
of organization and governance,” according to the UC
Regents’ web site.
There are several boards of regents across the nation that serve
different university systems. What many students may not realize is
how unique the UC Regents are, when compared to other regents
across the nation.
The board, which will meet at UCLA today and Thursday in Covel
Commons, consists of 26 members. Eighteen of the members are
appointed to a 12-year term by the governor of California, one is a
student appointed by the regents, and seven are ex officio
members.
Ex officio members are officials who are not appointed to the UC
Regents but who are de facto members. Some of these members include
the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the assembly.
Regents of other state university systems have terms ranging
from six years, such as Washington, Texas and Colorado, to eight
years, such as Michigan. The aim of longer terms is to shelter
“the university from shifting political winds,”
according to the Regents’ web site.
Also, boards of regents in other states have less than half of
the members sitting on the board when compared to the UC.
Washington has the most members of any other board, excluding the
UC Regents, with 10, which includes one non-voting student
regent.
Reappointment is currently the topic for discussion, as three
members will be leaving the board this year, including Ward
Connerly, who pushed to end the use of affirmative action in
admissions and hiring in the UC.
In California, the power of appointment for the UC Regents rests
solely in the hands of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. This contrasts
with the policies of other regents in the United States.
In both the regents of the University of Colorado and University
of Michigan, candidates for the boards are elected by the general
public. In Washington and Texas, the regents are appointed by the
governor, yet he must seek Senate confirmation in order for those
candidates to join the board.
The regents have autonomy when it comes to deciding the fate of
the UC system, and cannot be forced by the legislature to make any
sort of policy decisions. Student Regent Designate Adam Rosenthal
described the UC Regents as “the fourth branch of
government.”
Rosenthal, who received his undergraduate degree from UCLA and
is currently a law student at UC Davis, is serving his first year
of the student regent two-year term. Next year, he will replace the
current student regent, Jodi L. Anderson, a graduate student at
UCLA.
“It’s been tremendously enlightening. The university
is one of the most extraordinary organizations to master,”
Rosenthal said.
As a student regent with voting powers, Rosenthal has the
opportunity to bring attention to the issues and problems students
deal with when a part of the UC system, and can directly decide the
fate of policy changes.
The regents of Texas, Colorado and Michigan do not have a
student regent, and the student regent on the board in Washington
cannot vote in board decisions.
The University of Texas is currently debating the inclusion of a
student on the Board of Regents, after Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El
Paso, filed a resolution to amend the Texas Constitution. If both
houses in the Texas legislature pass the resolution by a two-thirds
vote, the resolution will go to voters in November 2005.