On Nov. 4 the citizens of Wyoming will be able to vote on an amendment to the Wyoming constitution regarding the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees.
This amendment proposes giving the governor the power to assign up to 20 percent of the board of trustees to out of state residents.
If passed the amendment would place the University of Wyoming in a growing group of universities with out of state trustees, a group that has grown from 17 percent to 37 percent within six years according to the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.
The reasoning behind placing this amendment on the ballot is that a majority of UW alumni do not live within the state. Keener Fry, the executive director of the UW Alumni Association, said only 48,000 of the 119,000 alumni his organization tracks live in Wyoming. The other 71,000 live out of state, creating a notable disparity of who can serve on the University’s board of trustees.
Fry believes that this amendment would be a “real value.”
“Many out of state alums are passionate about the University,” Fry said.
Fry also believes that these out of state alums could bring much desired leadership, support, encouragement and knowledge to the board.
This amendment may allow greater cultural and intellectual diversity but it also raises many questions as well.
Though the board decided that an official stance on the topic would not be appropriate at the time many of the trustees support the amendment unofficially. Dave Palmerlee, the president of the board, publically supports the amendment, noting that Wyoming does not “have a corner on wisdom.”
Palmerlee also believes that there are many highly qualified Wyoming alumni living outside of the state who could contribute to the board. If passed, he believes this amendment would open several doors for the university, bringing in “a huge amount of talent.”
The amendment would still keep the majority of trustees within the state only allowing 20 percent, or 2 of the 12 members of the current board, to be out of state trustees. This 20 percent is not a mandatory figure however; it will still be up to the discretion of the governor and the advice of the senate to choose the best candidates for the positions on the board.
The senate resolution for the amendment was extremely successful in the Wyoming legislature, garnering 83 percent of votes in the Senate and 67 percent in the House.
In a statement Friday Gov. Matt Mead confirmed his signing of the bill proposing the amendment but said he does not take an official position on the amendment.
“Wyoming people should evaluate the best option for governing the university,” Mead said.
Superintendent of the State Cindy Hill disagrees with the amendment.
“So few voices are representing the people of Wyoming on the board of trustees and giving two of those voices to out of state trustees would not be in the best interest of representing the people of Wyoming,” Hill said.
Hill also encouraged the public to educate themselves on the role of the board of trustees before voting on November 4.
