Mike Massie, Board of Trustees member.
The UW board of trustees is in compliance with the Wyoming Constitution for the first time in a year after recent gubernatorial appointments.
Last year nine of the 12 trustees on the board were registered Republicans, violating a state statute permitting only seven members to belong to the same political party. Wyoming law also requires trustees be appointed to six-year terms and that no two trustees may be residents of the same county.
Gov. Matt Mead appointed Mel Baldwin, a Democrat from Afton; Michael Massie, a Democrat from Laramie; John McKinley, a Republican from Cheyenne; Dick Scarlett a Republican from Wilson and Michelle Sullivan, a Democrat from Sheridan. The Wyoming Senate approved the appointees earlier in March.
“It’s important to be in compliance with the laws governing the UW board of trustees, including political party affiliation,” Massie said. “Having said that, the quality of the individual trustee is also important, particularly regarding knowledge, experience and work ethic. From that perspective, this is a good group of folks.”
Michelle Sullivan joined the board of trustees this year, and said while statute requires the trustees have a range of party identification, as citizens the board should be looking for a broader range of diversity.
“From my perspective, any governing body is strengthened when its members have diverse perspective and experience,” Sullivan said.
Marianne Kamp, an associate professor in UW’s history department, launched a petition last year calling for more political as well as gender and ethnic diversity in the UW board of trustees. Kamp said,
“While I believe that Gov. Mead selected four qualified and dedicated men and one qualified and dedicated woman to join the UW board of trustees, I maintain that he should have looked harder to find qualified and dedicated women and minorities,” Kamp said. Historically, Kamp said, the board has been more representative.
“The UW trustee board used to be more diverse, with more women representatives and at least one minority representative, and the governor should much more eagerly seek to make the board at least as diverse as it was ten years ago,” Kamp said.
Seth Waggener, Gov. Mead’s Communications Consultant said the governor’s office strives to properly execute appointments.
“The governor takes these appointments very seriously. Care is taken to make sure all appointee requirements for given boards are met at the time of their appointment.” Waggener said. “The governor took the opportunity to correct the composition in the 2015 session. The makeup of the board today meets all statutory requirements –as do all other boards pursuant to the governor’s commitment.”
