Bedell blames all sides,
hopes his exit shakes up leadership
Diane Heldt
The Gazette
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State Regent Tom
Bedell said Thursday he hopes his resignation from a board ‘‘embroiled
in a controversy with the University of Iowa’’ will clear the way for Gov.
elect Chet Culver to set an education agenda and make his mark on the Board
of Regents through new appointments.
‘‘I’m trying to do
the right thing to create the right opportunities for us to move forward,’’
said Bedell, whose announcement
Thursday that he was quitting
the board surprised his fellow regents.
‘‘I’m doing it because
I care, not because I want out.’’
Bedell, a Spirit
Lake businessman appointed to the regents in 2005 by Gov. Tom Vilsack,
sent a letter to Culver on Thursday, stating his intent to resign. Because
he didn’t give a date for his resignation, Vilsack accepted it, effective
today, but will defer an appointment to Culver, who takes office in January,
Vilsack spokesman Matt Paul said.
Bedell’s resignation
comes amid heavy criticism of regents leaders and a failed search for a
new UI president. Five campus groups this week overwhelmingly passed resolutions
of no confidence in Regents President Michael Gartner of Des Moines and
Regents President Pro Tem Teresa Wahlert of Waukee.
In a statement, Bedell
said the regents have failed to lead with vision and inspiration. He said
the board has engaged in unnecessary and divisive power struggles.
But he also laid
blame elsewhere, saying there is ‘‘no debate about the shortcomings and
political self-interest’’ of UI faculty, staff and student leaders, calling
their behavior during the controversy ‘‘disgusting and embarrassing.’’
Bedell told The Gazette
on Thursday, ‘‘We’ve gotten so mired down in controversy and acrimony and
personalities on a lot of sides. Instead of us addressing the big picture
and trying to accomplish what the state wants us to do, we’re in a name-calling
environment.’’ He added, ‘‘I think there’s plenty of blame to go around.’’
Bedell said his resignation
gives Culver an opportunity to appoint someone who could be elected president
by the board. Gartner’s presidency runs through April 2008. Bedell said
it’s up to the regents and Culver whether a new appointee takes over as
president immediately or after Gartner’s term is done. ‘‘I want to create
at least that opportunity,’’ he said.
Regent Robert Downer
of Iowa City didn’t want to comment on Bedell’s critical statements, but
noted that the nine-member board could see significant turnover with three
other members’ terms up next spring.
‘‘With the possibility
of three new regents . . . one more is not desirable from an experience
standpoint,’’ he said. Gartner said he was sorry to see Bedell resign,
but disagreed with a recommendation Bedell made for a cooling-off period
in the presidential search. He said most regents agree with a memo the
UI’s deans sent to Interim President Gary Fethke on Tuesday that says a
new search must begin immediately, with the goal of an appointment by July
1.
UI Staff Council
President Mary Greer said she hoped Bedell’s resignation spurs other regents
to do the same.
‘‘It’s clear that
he was as frustrated with the Board of Regents as the campus of the University
of Iowa is,’’ she said. ‘‘I think he’s resigning for very honorable reasons."