BY ALAN PITTMAN
D ONALD D EXTER J R DMD LLC
UO Independence
DENTISTRY
Bill has power over president, but not tuition
A
bill being drafted by Eugene
Rep. Phil Barnhart could create
a transparent local UO board
that’s appointed by the governor and/
or elected and has the power to raise
salaries and veto the fi ring of the UO
president, but has very limited power to
raise tuition.
Barnhart said he’s been talking to
other elected offi cials, a legislative
attorney and UO student and faculty
leaders in drafting the bill. “Nothing is
fi nal yet,” he said, inviting more input
from the public.
But
Barnhart
said
he
has
prioritized affordable tuition and
public accountability in the change in
governance. “I’m not interested in a
private university,” he said, “not even a
little bit.”
Barnhart laid out key provisions that
may be included in a bill introduced
statewide organization,” he said.
The local board would be free to give
raises to faculty and administrators,
Barnhart said. In doing so they could
balance faculty retention against faculty-
student ratios, tuition costs and other
funding issues, according to Barnhart.
“Obviously there would have to be
fi nancial constraints,” he said.
Barnhart said he supported fi red UO
President Richard Lariviere’s raises for
faculty, but as for the administrative
raises, “I don’t know.”
How exactly the powerful local board
would be selected is a “big discussion
item” that hasn’t been decided, Barnhart
said. “I think you could have the
governor appoint all of them,” he said.
That’s similar to the existing system with
the state OUS board. But Barnhart said it
would be different with a board focused
on the UO.
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‘Tuition and fees need to be managed
through a statewide organization.’
— Rep. Phil Barnhart
later next month for possible passage in
February. “Exactly how this is going to
pan out, I don’t know,” he said.
A key provision in the bill would
give the local board veto power to block
the fi ring or hiring of a UO president,
according to Barnhart. In turn, a state
board, perhaps the governor’s new
Education Investment Board, would also
have the same hiring/fi ring veto power.
Barnhart said that to avoid “huge
fi ghts” in the Legislature, the UO
board would still be under a state board
when it comes to competing for state
fi nancing and borrowing authority and
in establishing competing academic
specialties.
Barnhart said the local UO governing
board would improve the transparency of
the current local decision making at the
UO. Now, “the decisions get made by the
president within Johnson Hall without
much oversight,” he said. For example,
Barnhart faulted former UO president
Dave Frohnmayer for deciding to sell
Westmoreland family housing without
public input.
A board could offer public meetings,
hearings, public notice of deliberations,
transparency and public accountability
to such decisions, Barnhart said.
But Barnhart said he’s heard concerns
from students that a local board should
not have a free hand to increase tuition
and fees. “There’s a whole bunch of
concern,” he said.
Barnhart said the Legislature or the
governor’s statewide Investment Board
could set caps on tuition and fee increases
of perhaps 2 to 3 percent a year. “Tuition
and fees need to be managed through a
Some or all of the UO board members
could also be elected statewide, he said.
Asked if people in Pendleton would
know or care enough to vote, Barnhart
said it would be no different than
electing Oregon Supreme Court justices
statewide.
Barnhart said some of the board
members could also be elected by faculty
members and/or students. “You could do
that,” he said. “All those possibilities are
on the table.”
Barnhart said the board should
include diverse interests. “Obviously
you don’t want the faculty running the
whole thing, because that’s too narrow
an interest,” he said. “You don’t want a
board made up entirely of local athletic
department boosters.”
He said unlike an earlier bill for
an independent board the board he’s
proposing would not self perpetuate by
appointing many of its own members. “I
don’t think that’s acceptable,” he said.
Barnhart said he also hasn’t proposed a
seat on the public board for the privately
run UO Foundation.
Scandals have plagued independent
but clueless and crony boards at Penn
State, and corporations such as Enron
have not provided much oversight of
chief executives. But Barnhart said he
wants the UO board to use its power to
demand information and accountability
from the UO president.
The new UO board could intervene in
the president’s contract and hiring and
fi ring decisions, Barnhart said. “This
board has to take its accountability and
transparency responsibilities seriously.”
ew
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EUGENE WEEKLY DECEMBER 22, 2011 13