Tanner Conley
Staff Writer
Introduced by Rep. Chuck Gray of House District 57 in Natrona County, Wyoming House Bill 0083 sought to allow the legislature to “provide for selection of prospective appointees by the electorate and providing for gubernatorial appointment” as well as “authorizing removal for cause”, as written in the bill.
A bill seeking to check the balance of power of the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees failed in the introductory stage on Feb. 12 with a tally of 16 yeas, 43 nays and one excused.
Gray could not be reached for comment.
The Board of Trustees is a 12-person team that leads UW and establishes the policies and methods the university will follow into the foreseeable future. Each member serves a six-year term and must be appointed by the Governor of Wyoming.
As it stands, only the governor is allowed to remove trustees with the advice and consent of the Senate. This practice is set forth within Article 2 of Chapter 17 of the Wyoming State Statutes for 2019.
“The governor may remove any trustee as provided in W.S. 9-1-202,” according to Article 2.
This bill would have required a voting process in order to confirm the appointment.
“I think it’s a good thing [that only the governor can appoint trustees],” said Emily Trumbull, a junior at UW. “Yeah, there is politics involved, but it is the University of Wyoming and they are the governor of Wyoming, so they have the right to be able to choose for the state. People voted for him, he has their best interests at heart.”
The governor is also the only body that is allowed to appoint Trustees onto the Board.
With the bill failing to be introduced, questions continued to swirl around the UW Board of Trustees and their secretive handling of the investigation and subsequent termination of former President Laurie Nichols.
“They are the ones we look up to. They are the role models in a way. If they say no or they say yes, is that the right choice? How will it be beneficial to everyone?” said Trumbull.
According to the Board of Trustees page on the University of Wyoming website, trustees have “the following broad responsibilities (as adapted from the AGB Statement on Board Accountability, 2007)”
- “Approve the mission and purpose of the institution.
- Recruit, appoint, support, and evaluate the chief executive officer.
- Guard the fiscal integrity of the institution.
- Oversee and participate in periodic strategic planning and monitor progress on outcomes.
- Be aware of the educational, research, and service programs and demand evidence that the institution’s academic priorities are being met.
- In concert with the senior administration, engage with the institution’s major constituencies on a regular basis.
- Preserve institutional independence to protect the pursuit of truth, the generation of new knowledge, and intellectual inquiry so that they remain unencumbered by direct government control or special interest.
- Remain informed about institutional issues and the challenges confronting higher education.
- Serve, as necessary, as the final court of appeal on matters relating to the governance and on institutional policies and practices in accordance with established campus grievance procedures.”
Whether or not the Trustees have lived up to this statement is up to interpretation, with some arguing against the Board, especially with the recent handling of Nichol’s dismissal and the subsequent attempt to keep the reasoning out of public knowledge. Others still argue the Board is perfectly justified in their actions and should continue on the same path. Whatever the conclusion, it is a tumultuous time to be a Trustee.
