After years of waiting, all eight of Gov. Jim Doyle’s UW System Board of Regents nominations were finally confirmed by the Wisconsin Senate Jan. 9.

While in the hands of the Republican-dominated Senate, legislators delayed the confirmations, many for more than two. After the November elections swung partisan power to the Democrats, however, new Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beloit, spearheaded an effort to confirm the appointees as quickly as possible.

“I’m pleased and relieved that this process has finally been taken care of,” Board of Regents President David Walsh said in an interview. “And now that they’ve been approved, I believe this will bring long-needed stability to the system.”

The Senate unanimously confirmed all eight nominations, except Regent Tom Loftus, who had two senators vote against him. Loftus, one of the more outspoken voices on the board, ran for governor in 1990 and served as the U.S. Ambassador to Norway from 1993-97.

The other confirmed regents are Jeffrey Bartell, Judith Crane, Milton McPike, Michael Spector and Brent Smith, as well as student regents Christopher Semenas and Thomas Shields. All have already been serving on the board since June 2006 — or earlier, in some cases — despite not being officially confirmed by the Legislature.

UW System spokesperson David Giroux said he believed the flawless appointment of the regents was due to their past experience on the board, adding that the newly confirmed regents had already begun work on many key items, such as the Growth Agenda.

“The eight regents that were confirmed have already done a lot of work for the university,” Giroux said. “The governor nominates them, the Legislature confirms them, and we put them to work.”

State Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, however, said the Democratic control of the Senate had more to do with the confirmations than did the quality of the candidates.

“It doesn’t surprise me that the appointees were confirmed,” said Suder, an outspoken critic of the Board of Regents in recent years. “I think they would have had more difficulty if it were a Republican-ruled Legislature, whereas in this situation, the confirmations seemed to involve more political favors.”

According to Regent Smith, however, the Democrat-controlled Senate had little to do with the appointments.

Smith said that the Senate looked at a variety of key factors while making the decision, such as the appointees’ dedication and hard work.

Partisanship notwithstanding, Smith said everyone in the Senate is working toward the same goal.
“I think we’re all interested in the quality of the education and the quality of our faculty and staff,” Smith said. “And I think the governor’s appointees are anxious to move forward and help the university to achieve these goals.”

Suder, however, said he is not optimistic about the level of progress the regents will make.

“Unfortunately, I think you’re going to see a more out-of-touch Board of Regents that will be even more removed from the mainstream,” Suder said. “It will be business as usual, which means more spending, more partisanship and more left-wing politics.”