NEWS
Regents no longer under scrutiny
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Also by Chris Werner:
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- Whitewater mourns over student's death (September 22, 2004)
- The changing face of UW System leadership (September 1, 2004)
- Crossing the line (April 29, 2004)
- La Crosse student died of alcohol, drowning (April 30, 2004)
Related Stories:
- Regents no longer under scrutiny (October 27, 2003)
- Regents under fire once again (October 17, 2003)
- Regents under fire (October 8, 2003)
- UW regents possibly violated laws, according to state AG (March 26, 2004)
- Regents face new investigation into open meetings laws (November 14, 2003)
by Chris Werner
Monday, October 27, 2003
State Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager announced Friday that the legislative inquiry investigating whether the Board of Regents violated the state open meetings law for the second time had found the board innocent of breaking the law.
The review of the Oct. 10 meeting began after state legislators Sen. Tom Reynolds, R-West Allis, and Rep. Rob Kreibich, R-Eau Claire, voiced concern about the meeting, which they felt was conducted in a vague manner and did not abide by the law.
Lautenschlager directed the legislators’ requests to members of the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Unit.
Lautenschlager, however, concluded that the board followed the open meetings law policies when the regents met in secret to discuss a settlement with Lautenschlager’s office.
She nonetheless said she recognized the board’s agenda for the meeting was rather hazy.
“To summarize, although the notice the regents employed might have been better were it more specific by quoting the statutory exemption more thoroughly, I believe it met the statutory requirements,” Lautenschlager wrote in a statement directed to Reynolds and Kreibich.
Regent Beth Richlen, however, said the call for an investigation of the meeting was not necessarily needed. Richlem said she recognized the right of the legislators to express their concerns and bring them to the forefront.
“I don’t think it was necessary. They can call for whatever they think,” she said, adding that she does not “stomp on” the legislators for doing their job. “It did seem a little strange,” she added.
The investigation marked the second time the board’s behavior has come under scrutiny by legislative bodies. The first instance concerned the Regents’ Sept. 2 meeting, in which the members approved salary adjustments for top University of Wisconsin System leaders and executives in a barely publicized telephone vote.
As a result of the manner in which the board reached their vote, an initial investigation by Lautenschlager found the board guilty of violating the open meetings law.
Students, legislatures, and administrators banded together in protest of the approval, criticizing the board for possibly increasing salaries at a time when severe tuition increases and cutbacks are plaguing students and universities alike.
Richlen said she hopes the board will look at the criticisms and legislative investigations of the past two months as a stepping-stone for improvement — something she said can be attained through the members’ efforts.
“I think the president and vice president have to be more active. They have to take on some additional responsibilities,” she said.
