[Iowa-dx] Yepsen COlumn in today's DMR

[hhart@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu]

oh - my - gah  -  David Yepsen is supporting IAGP's platform on this =20
issue.  Think this warrants a press release or LTE to the Register?



http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=3D/20061217/OPINION01=
/612170328/1036




Yepsen: Why not just elect regents?
By DAVID YEPSEN
REGISTER POLITICAL COLUMNIST

December 17, 2006
=09  1 Comment


So Marvin Pomerantz has added his voice to those attacking Michael =20
Gartner over the selection of a new president for the University of =20
Iowa.

Pomerantz, a former regents president, said Gartner, the current =20
president, should never have been appointed and is "not a great leader."

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Pomerantz got on the =20
board in the same manner Gartner did. And like Pomerantz, Gartner is =20
upsetting people with his strong management style.

Pomerantz, a big supporter of Gov. Terry Branstad's, was placed on the =20
board by Branstad. Pomerantz says in his book he insisted on being =20
president if he was going on the board, so Branstad made it happen.

But somehow, when Gov. Tom Vilsack did the same thing with Gartner, it =20
was bad.

Their problem isn't their differences but their similarities. Iowa law =20
says the regents are to run the state universities - not the faculty - =20
and that's what Pomerantz did and Gartner is doing.

Gartner's taking heat over the search brouhaha. Pomerantz took it when =20
he put Martin Jischke in charge of Iowa State.

Pomerantz and Gartner were put in their presidencies by two governors =20
who wanted changes made at the state universities. So they tapped two =20
hard-working guys who love the state and who'd been very successful in =20
changing other big enterprises.

Anyone who ever worked for the two men will tell you they are tough =20
bosses who set high standards. If you don't meet their standards, =20
well, life can be miserable, as David Skorton discovered when he =20
wasn't achieving the goals the regents set for him.

He left, and that upset his old pals in Iowa City. Change is now in =20
the offing there. That's naturally making people nervous, just as we =20
all get the jitters when the old boss leaves and a new one is yet to =20
arrive.

Life was jittery for some at Iowa State back when Pomerantz was trying =20
to get that university to shed duplication and become what was called =20
an engine of economic development. ISU folks got so upset at Pomerantz =20
they succeeded in blocking his reappointment in the Iowa Senate.

Today, Iowa State is a better, more focused institution because of the =20
changes Pomerantz initiated. While ISU's faculty is holding =20
conferences on renewable fuels in the 21st century, the folks in Iowa =20
City are spending their time bashing Gartner and debating =20
"no-confidence" resolutions.

It's a risky game for university communities to erode public =20
confidence in regents. When liberal Johnson County legislators trash =20
the regents, they make it that much easier for right-wing lawmakers to =20
raise questions about the six-figure paychecks, sweet benefits, light =20
teaching loads and outside incomes of some faculty members. (Breach a =20
hole in the buffer regents provide to universities, and you never know =20
who will come through it.)

There are other parallels between Gartner and Pomerantz. Both were =20
undercut by other board members who are jealous or who wanted to be =20
board president.

Both men are quite upsetting to university types who prefer more =20
docile regents - you know, the ones who care primarily for good seats =20
or parking spots at football games. Sleepy regents like these are one =20
reason our state universities don't rank as well as some in other =20
states.

So maybe it's time we start electing the state Board of Regents. Other =20
states do. Let the governance of the institutions be determined by the =20
direct whims of voters every other November.

Think the Iowa City community would like that?

DAVID YEPSEN can be reached at dyepsen@dmreg.com or (515) 284-8545.