Who has the primary responsibility, or opportunity, to determine the excellence of a state-aided university?

This is a timely and relevant question because the competition for leadership in higher education is becoming more intense year after year, and openings in top positions at all state universities are sure to occur in the next several years. Excellence attracts excellence in faculty, students, research dollars and private giving. Excellence in higher education pays dividends for the state in many ways such as attracting top industry and research firms, generating tax revenue from such companies and improving the quality of life for Kansans.

There is no easy, automatic answer to the question of who has the responsibility or opportunity of building the excellence of a state-aided school because many offices and individuals play a role.

At Kansas University, those serving on the Kansas Board of Regents have the important role of appointing the chancellor, who serves at the pleasure of the regents. They select the individual they believe can do the best job of leading the school to greater levels of excellence.

It should be noted that those serving on search and selection committees for a chancellor also play a critical role because they are supposed to search the country looking for people who have the record or potential to achieve great things for the school. If these individuals are lazy in carrying out this assignment, the university and state can be damaged for years.

Once in office, the chancellor creates the environment and standards expected of the faculty and students and establishes a relationship with alumni, friends and state legislators that encourages enthusiasm and support for the university.

Obviously, state lawmakers and the governor play an important role because the degree of state fiscal support they give to the university is vital. But here, again, the effectiveness of the chancellor in telling the school’s story and explaining its needs is critical.

The chancellor sets the stage and directs the operation. He or she needs a strong supporting cast but, in the end, the chancellor is the conductor who determines whether the team is functioning to its full potential.

Regents select the chancellor, so it is imperative they do a superior job in making this selection and then exercising their authority to make sure the university is being run in the proper manner. Those serving as regents must have the courage to make the proper moves or changes if individuals are not measuring up. Unfortunately, the manner in which regents now are being selected handicaps the state and its system of higher education.

It used to be a governor could select the nine best individuals in the state to serve as regents. It didn’t matter where they lived or where they went to school. The goal was to select individuals who had business, professional and personal records that merited the respect of residents and state legislators.

Today, the governor is handcuffed in this selection process in that each congressional district in the state must be represented. No two members can live in the same county when they are appointed, and there can be no more than five regents from one political party. Perhaps it is an unspoken policy, but care also is taken to make sure a majority of the regents have not graduated from a single regents university.

It’s time for a change in this selection process — a change in the selection process, as well as a change that allows regents to have a far better idea of what is going on at the universities they oversee.

Higher education is too important, too big a business not to have the regents more knowledgeable about the schools. How much do the regents know about the individuals running the schools? Do regents merely rubber-stamp the recommendation of the selection committees and does the governor rely totally on what the regents recommend? How many times are regents caught off-guard by important events on a campus? Lessons learned in recent selection processes should serve as a guide in future selection efforts.

It’s a fairly loose operation and the consequences can be long-lasting and damaging. Far more care needs to be given to those selected to serve on selection committees to review chancellor and presidential candidates. The regents need to know far more about potential candidates, and the governor needs to have the ability to select the best possible candidates to serve as regents.

Regents serve in a powerful and important position and play a broad role in the level of excellence at each state university. Through his appointments, the governor can determine to a large degree the excellence of the state’s system of higher education IF regents have the backbone to make tough decisions and demand top performances from the chancellor and presidents.