The Kansas Board of Regents hasn’t been included in Kansas University Medical Center’s discussions to form partnerships and boost the region’s life science industry.

And that’s fine with Regent Dick Bond.

“We and the Legislature know the same amount – practically nothing,” said Bond, one of nine regents responsible for governing the state’s public universities. “We’re not going to micro-manage.”

Barbara Atkinson, executive vice chancellor of the medical center, this week revealed details of KU Hospital’s nearly $400 million pitch to KUMC for an affiliation agreement between the Kansas City, Kan., operations. She also noted that another $200 million may be available from other sources to support the school’s mission.

The details, shared in a letter to KUMC staff, are the latest in ongoing talks between the medical center and area hospitals about future partnerships that could put the region on the map as a destination in life sciences.

The medical center has crossed the state line to discuss partnerships with St. Luke’s Hospital Systems and Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics.

Meanwhile, KU Hospital leaders hope to retain their close ties to KU’s medical school, which already is a major player in the state. Fifty-two percent of the state’s practicing physicians graduated from or completed their residencies at KU.

The recent talks have continued largely outside the purview of regents and Kansas lawmakers.

“I can’t say that we have been briefed fully,” Bond said.

KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway said the regents assign the responsibility of carrying out university business to the university.

“They’re very conscious of the fact that the regents’ role is not to micro-manage and constantly look over the shoulder of the university,” Hemenway said.

He said the regents, who have been briefed on the issue by him, ultimately will have to approve any final plan that is developed.

Bond said the deal is large and the regents are leaving it up to the “pros.”

“This is monstrous and it is highly technical and it is very sensitive to multiple organizations over which the regents have no authority,” he said. “We only in fact have authority over the chancellor.”

KU officials including Hemenway have been called to speak before lawmakers and are expected to meet with the Legislative Budget Committee Dec. 11 in Topeka.

“There’s probably parts of this discussion that I’m not aware of, and that’s one reason why I think it would be important to get sort of a complete briefing from everyone involved – so there’s no misunderstanding with legislators and others,” said Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton. “We need to be partners with the medical school. : We want to be as helpful as we can.”

Rep. Brenda Landwehr (R-Wichita) said lawmakers need to investigate what’s going on before determining a next step.

“We need to find out what it is that they’re trying to do,” she said. “Will we be having Kansas tax dollars going to Missouri? Is that the proper thing for Kansas tax dollars to go to? Will Missouri tax dollars go to Kansas? How does that all work?”

Atkinson said it’s not the case that Kansas money will be flowing to Missouri. She said if the medical center forms a partnership with St. Luke’s, the Missouri-based hospital system would pay for its medical residents.

“Anything that happens in Missouri will be supported by the Missouri hospitals themselves,” she said.

Atkinson also pointed to support the medical center already received from Missouri: a $27 million gift from the Hall Family Foundation that went toward the new Biomedical Research Center that officially opens in January on the medical center campus.