CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Faculty and students serving on the board of governors at West Virginia colleges and universities would shift become non-voting members of the board under a bill that his head to the full House of Delegates for consideration.
The House Education Committee advanced HB 3279 on a 15-9 roll call vote Tuesday afternoon.
Currently, boards of governors include representatives of students, faculty and staff who are full voting members who can offer opinions on policy matters ranging from property modifications to hiring a university president. Such representatives would remain on the board, but only in an advisory role.
That shift in policy did not sit well with some committee members who questioned the purpose of converting student, faculty and staff representatives to strictly advisory roles.
“The bill starts out with members with an agricultural background being added. Then it goes down to residency required to be a chair. Then it goes to taking some members off and taking away their voting rights,” said Delegate Phil Mallow, R-Marion.
“There just seems to be something amiss with this bill.”
A provision in the original bill mandating the chairperson of the board be a state resident who had lived in West Virginia for at least three years was removed from the committee version that advanced on Tuesday.
“I appreciate that particular requirement was removed. Under that, the current president of Marshall University would be disqualified from serving on the board but that doesn’t make it that much better,” said Delegate Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha.
Pushkin continued, “I’ve not been approached by a single person. I don’t know why we are doing this. I’m not sure what the purpose of this is to silence the voices of faculty and students. I don’t understand what the problem is we’re trying to fix.”
Lesley Cottrell, a professor in the pediatrics department, is a faculty representative on the West Virginia University Board of Governors. She expressed concerns to the committee that taking votes away and serving only in an advisory role could change future conversations among board members.
“It’s as if you’re invited to the adult table, now being asked to sit at the kiddie table even though the family invited you sit at the adult table,” Cottrell said.
“There’s a big question of why, and why now.”
Delegate Jimmy Willis, R-Brooke, who supported the bill, pointed out that members representing students, faculty and staff would still serve in an advisory role.
“We heard in testimony, they would still be able to have conversations. They would still be members of the board, in advisor roles and still have a voice and still have a seat at the table. They would still have ability to ask questions and be part of the process,” Willis explained.
Delegate Laura Kimble, R-Harrison, commented: “I do not like the idea of three members who had voting rights, being just shoved to the side.”
The bill requires the West Virginia University and West Virginia State University boards of governors include a representative with a background in agriculture, forestry, or the agricultural or silvicultural sciences.
The bill will now be taken up by the full House of Delegates with a major deadline looming. The last day bills can be passed out of the chamber in which they originated is April 2.