Iowa Board of Regents look at more meetings next year

Instead of a previously considered reduction in the number of meetings it holds each year, the Board of Regents next week will vote on a 'new, more transparent” schedule adding dates.

The proposed 2017 meeting schedule includes 15 meeting dates in every month of the year, as opposed to the board's typical six or seven one- or two-day meetings a year.

Seven of those 15 are full board meetings, more than the four proposed in a 'confidential” draft circulated to the universities last month and obtained by The Gazette.

Under the new proposal, full-board meetings would be separated from those involving its property and facilities committee and academic and student affairs committee.

Those committees traditionally meet either the day before or the day of the full board meetings.

'This format will allow more time for in-depth discussions of issues at the committee level and more time for review of the committee items by the regents, the institutions, and the public,” according to the proposal p for approval next week.

All the meetings on the 2017 schedule would be one-day meetings, cutting the amount of travel and staff time, according to the board documents. If the board approves the changes, it will work with each institution it oversees to confirm times and locations.

As proposed, the schedule includes one full board meeting at the University of Iowa, one at the Iowa School for the Deaf, two at the University of Northern Iowa and one at Iowa State University, although two telephone meetings would also be based at ISU.

The new proposal comes after The Gazette disclosed discussions among staff about reducing the number of full meetings at the same time the board has been criticized for not being transparent enough with the public.

After learning of the initial proposal, UI and ISU students expressed concerns.

'People are already upset about lack of accessibility, private meetings and telephonic voting,” UI Student Government President Rachel Zuckerman said at the time. 'I can't imagine this going well.”

Board spokesman Josh Lehman said Tuesday that feedback on the idea had nothing to do with changes made to the schedule going before the board next week.

'The earlier one was just a draft, it was just an idea,” he said. 'This is the one that is going before the board.”

The primary change of pulling out committee meetings will enable longer discussions on agenda items and more time to consider the issues, Lehman said.

'The talk has been that maybe there might be a better way to do the meetings,” he said.

Proposed 2017 regents meeting schedule:

January 2017: Committee meetings at a location to be determined

Jan. 17: Midyear evaluations and board meeting at the Board of Regents Office

Feb. 23: Board meeting at Iowa State University

March: Committee meetings at a location to be determined

April 20: Board meeting at the Iowa School for the Deaf

May: Committee meetings at a location to be determined

June 7 and June 8: Evaluations and board meeting at University of Northern Iowa

July: Committee meetings at a location to be determined

Aug. 2: Telephonic board meeting at Iowa State University

Sept. 7: Board meeting at University of Iowa

Early October: Committee meetings at a location to be determined

Oct. 19: Board meeting at University of Northern Iowa

November: Committee meetings at a location to be determined

Dec. 6: Telephonic board meeting at Iowa State University