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IN AND AROUND THE CAPITOL
House bill proposes salary,
longer terms for UH regentsWINNERS & LOSERS
By Pat Omandam
Star-BulletinUniversity of Hawaii regents would be allowed to serve up to 20 consecutive years and receive up to $25,000 each in annual stipends, under a bill moving in the state Legislature.
But the current UH Board of Regents chairman doesn't think any changes are necessary to how regents are nominated or compensated.
"Regents have historically prided themselves in having been appointed to this prestigious board due to their professional achievements and stature in the community," said Donald C.W. Kim.
"Serving without any form of compensation, therefore, has added to their prestige and heightened their willingness and ability to buffer the university against external intrusion," he said.
Currently, regents serve staggered four-year terms and can be reappointed once. They receive no compensation except for per diem.
House Bill 2069, passed by the House Higher Education Committee last week, creates a separate seven-member commission attached to the state Senate to review gubernatorial nominees to the board.
The measure would increase the term of a regent from four years to 10 years and allow a regent to be reappointed once. Regents would receive compensation of up to $25,000 a year but would not receive any other benefits.
The idea already has the support of the faculty union. John H. Radcliffe, associate executive director of the UH Professional Assembly, said longer terms would make the board more independent because regents' terms would last beyond that of the person who appointed them. The current system, he said, gives control of the university to the governor and the Legislature, resulting in too much political micromanaging.
Being a regent is an important as being a judge or a chief executive officer of a company, he said.
"You don't pick your top business people because of who they supported politically, what political party they belong to or what part of a geographic designation they are domiciled," Radcliffe testified.
"They are not picked because they represent some constituency. They are picked on the basis of their wisdom, skill, ability, competence," he said.
Although the board has not been able to decide on an official position on the bill, Kim said testimony from previous boards showed they preferred the current four-year term with one reappointment because it gives regents enough time to learn about the university and make meaningful contributions.
"The current terms enable a somewhat constant flow of new perspectives onto the board, thus insuring for vitality in the board's governance," Kim said.
House Bill 2069 goes to the House Finance Committee for consideration.
WINNERS & LOSERS
Minimum-wage workers: Destined for a pay raise from $5.25 to $5.75 an hour, as House and Senate want to raise the minimum wage.
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