Board retains position of student regent

Board retains position of student regent

By Michael Howerton

Daily Bruin Staff

In the face of criticism from campus groups and opposition from
fellow UC Regents, Regent Glenn Campbell rescinded his proposal to
eliminate the student regent position yesterday.

Campbell also removed his proposal to strip the power to grant
faculty tenure from the chancellors and place it back in the hands
of the regents. Both proposals were scheduled for consideration at
tomorrow’s regents’ meeting.

The two propositions had received criticism from groups who
viewed Campbell’s measures as unnecessarily divisive at a time when
the regents have been criticized for inaccessibility.

Elimination of the student regent would have removed a student’s
perspective from the meetings, said Clair Burgener, the Board of
Regents chairman, in opposition to Campbell’s motion.

Taking away the power to grant tenure from the faculty and
chancellors, who have held it since 1977, would damage the already
fragile relationship between the faculty and the regents, Burgener
said.

In recent months, faculty members have attacked the Board of
Regents for ignoring their input in what they perceive as a
violation of the long tradition of shared governance in the
university.

Campbell, in defense of returning the authority to grant tenure
to the regents, said last week that such an act is necessary to
show the faculty that the regents are in control.

In proposing to eliminate the student regent position, Campbell
argued that after 21 years of having a student sit on the board as
a regent, he was just tired of listening to them.

"They talk too much and it gets tiresome," he said.

As the meeting approached this week, it became clear that
Campbell’s proposals did not have wide support among board members,
and Burgener stated that he could not conceive of them passing the
proposal.

Jess Bravin, next year’s student regent nominee, urged Campbell
to remove his proposal to terminate the student regent position. In
his letter to Campbell, Bravin claimed that the students view his
proposal as "an insult to their capabilities and concerns."

This month’s regents meeting is the last for the retiring
Campbell, who has served on the board since 1968. Before rescinding
the proposals, he mused that their approval would have made a "nice
going away present."

Bravin, however, told Campbell that it would be better to retire
without the divisive proposals on the table.

"You have served this university as a regent for 28 years,"
Bravin wrote to Campbell. "The Feb. 15 meeting should be an
occasion to celebrate those years, not to initiate a needless and
hurtful conflict."Comments to [email protected]