The second draft of a possible structure for institutional boards was proposed last Wednesday as legislators and education leaders continue the discussion over where to allocate powers in a hypothetical shared-governance system.
The proposal is similar to the first — but with tweaks from the Oregon State Board of Higher Education’s Governance and Policy Committee.@@http://www.ous.edu/state_board/committees/governance@@ This version includes sections suggesting shared governance may not be best for the University.
“(Some universities) are seeking autonomous status that they believe could aid them in achieving their institutional goals more effectively, although national research has not shown clearly that such status would help the state achieve its educational goals more effectively,” the proposal reads.
Rep. Val Hoyle,@@http://www.leg.state.or.us/hoyle/@@ a member of the special committee created by Oregon House Bill 4061@@http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oGdUmWyrFPXAkAxv5XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1amhwcDBkBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDNARjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkA1NNRTA4MV8yMzU-/SIG=11vn3sik7/EXP=1337080598/**http%3a//gov.oregonlive.com/bill/2012/HB4061/@@ to consider the creation of institutional boards, said the process is continuing to progress with solid dialogue among all parties.
According to Hoyle, committee members are divided about which powers should be reserved for which boards, particularly on the hiring and firing of presidents, tuition setting, seeking and issuing bonds and ownership of property.
“As it is proposed, there really isn’t enough substantive authority on those four core pieces,” she said. “Without those four components, I don’t see that getting an institutional board is worth it. I don’t want a board without any real authority.”
Interim University President Robert Berdahl@@http://www.google.com/url?q=http://president.uoregon.edu/biography&sa=U&ei=5sqxT8DKCMTm2AWrxKgO&ved=0CAUQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNEUp1U33QKVLDNDCJpetJBW0jLnnQ@@ shares Hoyle’s wish to get a board under which the University would be able to function more autonomously. He also expressed he is focused on creating a solid structure before his interim term is up.
In a proposal to the committee and the board, he stated he wants to achieve an outcome all stakeholders are content with.
“We know this is a process of give and take,” Berdahl said.