Kalyn Story | Staff Writer
Days after the Bears for Leadership Reform group proposed a plan to change the governance practices of the Board of Regents, the Governance Committee of the Board of Regents released their recommendations to the Board of Regents.
In November, Baylor interim President David Garland announced the the formation of a task force to review the Board of Regents’ current operation methods.
According to the statement released Saturday, the task force tailored its recommendations specifically to improve the transparency and accountability of the Board.
The statement also said the task force believes its recommendations regarding input for regent selection, selection of board leadership, changes to the removal process for regents, greater regent emeriti involvement, rotation off the board of the past chair after one year, reorganization of committee responsibilities, and streamlining of committee meetings “will substantially improve transparency and accountability.”
In addition to modifying current practices, the task force recommends the board of regents maintains its own website and suggests the creation of the office of secretary to the board, according to the statement.
“To bolster trust and confidence within the Baylor community, the task force recommends that the board secretary maintain a Board website to inform constituents regarding the Board calendar and agenda and provide summaries of Board meetings,” the statement said.
Bears for Leadership Reform released a statement Saturday in response to the task force’s recommendations.
Bears for Leadership Reform President John Eddie Williams said he is pleased that the Regents made the Task Force’s recommendations public but expressed his dissatisfaction with the recommendations.
“While the Task Force reviewed how similar boards at other private universities, for-profit and not-for-profit institutions conduct business, these institutions, have never been engulfed by a sexual and domestic assault scandal like Baylor,” Williams said. “If we are to prevent this tragedy from ever happening again, Baylor and its Board must not just match what other institutions are doing, it must set the standard and become the leader in transparency and accountability. Unfortunately, the changes recommended by the Board of Regents’ task force fail to thoroughly address these key principles.”
Williams specifically expressed his disappointment with the Regent selection processes saying only a select few hold all the power.
The Board of Regents will vote at their meeting next month on whether or not the board will implement the recommendations provided by the Task Force.
