A BILL is before the Virginia House of Delegates that would add a non-voting faculty member to the Board of Visitors of each of the public colleges in Virginia. A better solution would be to make the new faculty position on the Board a voting one, and extend the voting right to the non-voting student member currently on each Board.
The members of the Board of Visitors are appointed by the governor. A bunch of political cronies shouldn't determine policy. This in itself is a flaw in the current form of Boards throughout Virginia. Whomever is governor appoints his friends to the Board as a matter of patronage. Certainly most Board members are capable, but adding a voting faculty and student member to each Board from the schools they represent would significantly strengthen the Board system.
The student Board member currently is useless. Without the power to vote, the student member has no power that isn't given already to members of the University community, who may speak at any Board meeting. This is a shame, because the student knows what is going on at the school he represents more than any of the Board members do.
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Board member William G. Crutchfield Jr. points out that "the voting issue is somewhat mute. Very rarely does the BOV have close votes. Votes are unanimous or nearly so most of the time."
Even if the votes are not close, it is still important to give the student the same right as other Board members. While Crutchfield points out that the students' views are always listened to, these views lack significance without a vote to support them. A University student would be able to better express desires for student seating at the new basketball stadium than a Board member who was appointed because of his loyalty to the governor.
The Board also is in charge of raising and lowering tuition. There is no one more affected by the cost of tuition than students. It is ludicrous that the non-voting member of the Board must sit and watch as his colleagues, the real members of the Board, decide what his tuition should be.
Students also are free from political pressure, which many Board members are subject to. The student's only job is to serve the students of the University, which he can accomplish with complete objectivity.
The student Board member also should be chosen in a more democratic way. Currently he or she is chosen by the Board after being recommended by a panel of students and administrators. This system perpetuates elitism. A better system would be for a University-wide vote of students to determine the student member. A student member chosen democratically would be active and vocal in expressing student ideas. If self-governance really exists at the University, then this is the only fair system.
The faculty also deserves a voting member on the Board. A faculty member would best be able to note the effects of the University's freeze on faculty raises because of the budget woes. Only a faculty member could speak accurately about the morale of University faculty, and how many plan to leave to find more lucrative jobs. Faculty members also have different concerns than other Board members. He or she probably knows better than most what direction academic programming at the University should take.
The student and faculty member often would vote similarly on some issues. Other times they may disagree. Students and faculty have different priorities and perspectives, but they are the two most important parts of any university.
Critics will say that faculty and students do not know as much about the long-term goals of the colleges they represent as do Board members. This is a ridiculous argument. What student or faculty member would not look out for the long-term goal of the college he represents? Students and faculty would have a lot more confidence in the system if they knew that they had a real representative on the Board.
The student and faculty members need to be given the right to vote. Without voting, these members are powerless. They would be there simply to appease student and faculty groups, but in reality would have little influence or importance.
Every public college and university in the Commonwealth of Virginia needs to have a voting student and faculty member on their respective boards. University students and faculty are forced to look on as the school they cherish must tighten its belt because of the stupid and irresponsible practices of politicians in Richmond over the last decade. Now more than ever, it should be clear that politicians in Virginia are ruining public education, and increased student and faculty involvement is key to making higher education a priority again.
(Harris Freier's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at hfreier@cavalierdaily.com.)
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