State Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala may be the UW System’s best friend in the coming weeks. After the Assembly finishes its catfight with the Board of Regents it will be up to the Senate to protect the quality of a UW education. Unfortunately the state of the UW System is not a complete priority for Sen. Chvala.

We have twice editorialized this year about the status of four regents — Gerard Randall Jr., James R. Klauser, Phyllis Krutsch and Lolita Schneiders — who have been appointed to the board by the governor, some of them 22 months ago. None of the four have been voted on for confirmation by the Senate.

As majority leader, Chvala decides what gets voted on and when. It seems clear he is avoiding these votes in the hopes a Democrat will be elected governor in November and replace all four. In short, Chvala is playing politics with the board — a move decidedly not in UW’s best interest, as this weekend has demonstrated.

Another issue is at stake. As the Board of Regents is dealing with cuts of millions of dollars initiated by the governor, these four are serving at his pleasure. The chilling effect on any criticism or alternative ideas held by these regents is obvious.

If the UW is a priority for Sen. Chvala, he should allow a vote on these regents immediately. Randall, approved a week ago by the Senate committee on education, would be a good regent to start with. His most recent appointment is his second, he is the vice-president of the board, and is in line to be the first African-American president of the Board of Regents.
The Board of Regents has enough problems. Chvala should stop adding more for purely political purposes.