Incoming UW-Madison law student and UW-Stevens Point graduate Beth Richlen was appointed to the Board of Regents for a two-year term by Gov. Jim Doyle May 6.
Richlen, originally from the Milwaukee area, majored in political science and French at Stevens Point, where she served as president of the student council. As an undergraduate, she was a member of the French club, international club and Model United Nations.
Dan Leistikow, spokesman for Gov. Doyle, said the governor was “looking for someone who could be a good representative for students and do a good job at articulating the needs and concerns of students.”
Richlen believes she is up to the task.
“I was getting pretty damn good at it,” she said, discussing her success at Point in relations with the Board of Regents and United Council. She cited these successes as prime motivators for seeking the regent post.
Richlen has been assigned to the powerful Education Committee, the Student Discipline committee, the Teaching Excellence Award Committee, and a Special Regent Committee in the search for a chancellor at UW-Milwaukee.
Richlen said she has two main goals for her term on the board. The first is to earn more respect for the student regent position. Richlen says many people believe the student is just an “extra vote.” She says she would like to disprove this sentiment by working hard and learning the issues inside and out.
Richlen would also like to examine diversity across the UW System through Plan 2008. She sees this as the biggest challenge besides the budget facing the regents. She believes every campus should have a committee set up to work on Plan 2008. These committees would resemble the Associated Students of Madison’s, but unlike it, would be funded by the system and not the students.
According to Richlen, the No. 1 problem with Plan 2008 is that not one campus has fully funded the project. She said she would like to see every campus make this commitment, even just for a year, and start implementing the plan before it is supposed to end in 2008.
“I’m talking about getting a solid 5 percent (of students of color) at every school. If we could even just retain the people we recruit, we’d be doing pretty dang well. I’m not talking about importing diversity for the sake of diversity. I’m talking about recruiting our own.”
Regent Roger Axtell said Richlen has made a favorable impression in the few meetings in which she has participated.
“She’s only been to two meetings, but she comes with good credentials. She was one of four to vote against the state budget. It was more of a symbolic vote, but I give her credit for standing up for her beliefs,” he said.
Richlen isn’t all about business, however. While she claims to be “totally uninteresting,” she has spent a good deal of time in Belgium, is a big wine drinker and enjoys dark beer.
Some advice she has for students is to try speaking a foreign language after having a few drinks. Says Richlen, “The more wine you drink, the better you speak French. It is a definite confidence builder.”
