Regents executive director Kim Wilcox promises to be an advocate for higher education.
The Board of Regents want to see pay increase for unclassified employees, Kim Wilcox, the board's executive director, said.
Speaking at noon Wednesday at a meeting of the Kansas University Unclassified Professional Staff Assn., Wilcox said he thought it was a mistake for the Legislature to separate out the faculty for pay increases during the last legislative session.
"It was bad policy in part because it increased the level of management by the Legislature," he said.
"The board stands by its position that unclassified employees should not be divided between faculty and other unclassified employees," Wilcox said.
Wilcox said the reconstitution of the board through the Higher Education Coordination Act, which took effect this summer, provides an opportunity for all of higher education to speak with one voice to the Legislature.
"As executive director, I will have failed if I cannot make the system advocate effectively," he said.
The board is still integrating 19 community colleges, 11 technical schools and colleges and Washburn University under its supervision, Wilcox said.
As part of that process, Wilcox, Board Chairman William Docking and Vice Chairman Clay Blair III plan to visit all 37 institutions the board oversees by Dec. 31.
The three will visit the KU campus Monday.
Questions from the 38 people attending the meeting focused on the recent 1 percent budget cut ordered by Gov. Bill Graves.
Ruth Stoner of the dean of students office asked Wilcox to consider the importance of improving operating expense funding.
Wilcox said he understood that operating funds at the universities lag far behind their peer institutions and said he intended to educate legislators about the needs of the schools the board oversees.
-- Erwin Seba's phone message number is 832-7145. His e-mail address is eseba@ljworld.com.
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