West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin must appoint a new member to West Virginia University’s Board of Governors by Nov. 18.
The appointment comes in light of BOG member Steve Goodwin’s resignation Oct. 19, and according to state code, Manchin has 30 days to appoint the new member.
State code says no more than seven members can be of the same political party, and at least eight must be residents of West Virginia.
Of the remaining 11 appointed members, four are democrats, six are republicans and one is independent, said Carolyn Long, BOG chair.
Eight members are already from in-state and three – Charles Vest, Raymond Lane and Oliver Luck – are considered out-of-state, Long said.
The current composition of the BOG allows Manchin to choose anyone regardless of political affiliation or residency.
However, WVU Faculty Senate would like Manchin to focus on diversity in the backgrounds of candidates.
Members of the executive committee expressed interest in suggesting qualities to the Governor during Oct. 26’s Faculty Senate meeting.
Long said it was appropriate for the Faculty Senate to do so because of its stake in the BOG.
Faculty Senate expressed its view in the form of a letter to Gov. Manchin on Oct. 29.
Originally, it thought about suggesting specific people for the BOG.
"In terms of names, every recent governor appointment that I know anything about, the position he’s taken is ‘I want a list of qualified folks. I don’t want ranked ordering. I don’t want priority. I don’t want anybody making a recommendation that a particular person be named,’" said Marjorie McDiarmid, Faculty Senate Executive committee member.
Faculty Senate agreed on suggesting qualities to the Governor as well as backgrounds, since the suggestion of adding another member from Health Sciences or the Arts.
"This isn’t necessarily qualities of vision, honesty and so on, but perhaps a little more backgrounds," said Nigel Clark, Faculty Senate chair.
The need for more diversity among the BOG member’s backgrounds was echoed by Senate executive committee member Michael Perone.
"Diversity is what brings strength to a governing board, and what we have now is a board that is heavy on business, industry and law," Perone said.
"I think the critical thing with the Board is that all the members have a commitment to the betterment of the University that they’re unified
in that respect and in other respects are as diverse as possible."
These views were expressed in the letter to Gov. Manchin.
"Many faculty leaders favored a person with experience in the arts or humanities, although some expressed views that another member experienced in health care, or a member versed in basic or industry research would be desirable," the letter read.
Other qualities Faculty Senate suggested were a proven record of achievement in higher education, an
understanding of the complexities of a land-grant institution, a national or international view point, as well as integrity, good judgment and institutional loyalty.
It is important for the governor to look at candidates’ politics and residency, Long said, but also his or her background.
"I think it’s very important because then we get a very large overview of all the constituency groups in WVU," Long said. "I don’t think it would be a very efficient board if we just had one outlook."
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