Panel Initiates Scrutiny of BOG Structure, Size

A legislative commission charged with examining the size of the UNC-system Board of Governors began its work Wednesday by listening to experts present different examples of efficient university governance boards.

"Our goal is to see if there are any problems with the terms or number of members (of the BOG) and suggest legislation to correct any problems," said commission Co-chairman Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange.

Several high-ranking members pushed for the commission's creation in 2001 because they said the BOG's structure might limit the effectiveness of the UNC system's two flagship institutions -- UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University.

When the commission first was proposed, all 16 UNC-system chancellors, as well as former UNC-system presidents Bill Friday and C.D. Spangler, voiced their opposition to its creation, saying that state and UNC-system officials had more important issues to contend with.

The commission has yet to come to any conclusions.

Commission members said they put off their initial meeting because of lengthy state budget negotiations that caused session to run to within a month of the Nov. 5 elections. "We stayed in session for a very long time, then there was the matter of the election; after the election it was Thanksgiving, then Christmas," said Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland.

Because of the delays, the study commission will not submit its report on potential remodeling of the UNC system's administrative structure by the original due date of Jan. 29.

Rand, the commission's co-chairman, said the delay was not a concerted attempt to undermine plans for change but simply an expression of the fact that the N.C. General Assembly had more important issues to consider.

No new deadline for the commission's report has been set, Rand said. "We do not have the findings yet. When it is completed, we will issue a report."

But given the delay, some have expressed doubts about the potential influence of the commission's proposals. "The commission was not convened until (Wednesday). It has a very short time to do what it is going to do," said former BOG member John Sanders.

Sanders gave a presentation at the meeting that detailed the history of the BOG and its composition. Richard Novak, executive director of the national Center for Public Higher Education, talked about how administrative structures work in other states.

Novak gave a summary of national governing boards, their average sizes and how they are selected. Rand said Novak's presentation highlighted the peculiarities of the UNC-system board.

Novak indicated that most boards are appointed and have 15 to 17 members, half the size of the 34-member BOG.

But Sanders said that even prior to Novak's report, the commission was operating under the assumption that a 34-member board is a problem.

Sanders said he does not favor a change in the BOG's composition, though he was not asked to and did not attempt to advise the commission. "I think (the BOG) is well-organized. ... I do not have any proposals for improving it."

The commission values outside input and intends to host two more presentations and possibly an open hearing for public comment, Rand said. The next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 22.

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.