Return to Nicholas Johnson's Iowa Rain Forest ("Earthpark") Web Site

Return to Nicholas Johnson's Blog, FromDC2Iowa
 
 

[Note: This material is copyright by the Press-Citizen, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Iowa City Press-Citizen.]

In a letter to Gov.-elect Chet Culver, Bedell wrote that the regents and UI are "embroiled in a controversy that is more personality than substance driven."

"To clear the way to appoint a new regent that might become president of the board who could provide renewed leadership, I offer my resignation," Bedell wrote.

The resignation would take effect when Culver becomes governor next month.

Culver issued a statement early Thursday evening, thanking Bedell for his work and saying he was "very concerned" about the problems within the board.

"I will be committed to appointing the best qualified Iowans to the Board of Regents during my administration," Culver said in the statement.

Bedell of Spirit Lake has served on the Board of Regents for 1½ years. His resignation comes a little more than a month after the regents voted 6-2 to reject four finalists that had resulted from a seven-month, $195,000 process to replace David Skorton.

Skorton left UI in June to become president at Cornell College in Ithaca, N.Y.

Bedell did not return a phone message seeking comment. However, in a letter to "the people of Iowa" released to the media, Bedell said the most important role of the regents is to "inspire."

"As regents, we have failed to lead with vision and inspiration," Bedell wrote. "We have engaged in power struggles that are unnecessary and divisive."

Bedell also called the behavior of leadership on the UI Faculty Senate, staff and students, "disgusting and embarrassing." Earlier this week, the UI Faculty Senate and UI Staff Council overwhelmingly approved no-confidence resolutions in regent's leadership.

The UI Student Government passed a similar no-confidence resolution Thursday by a 45-1 margin. UISG members also voted 42-4 to show no confidence in Gov. Tom Vilsack and passed an "expression of gratitude for Provost Michael Hogan."

On Tuesday, the UI Collegiate Deans sent a memo to Interim UI President Gary Fethke urging "an immediate and intensive search" for a UI president. In the memo, the deans also sought a new search committee made up of UI community leaders and "chaired by a respected senior faculty member." The group also called for a new president to be appointed by July 1, 2007.

"It does not represent the values of the people of Iowa nor, I am confident, the University of Iowa community at large," Bedell wrote. "But finger pointing and blame naming does not give us inspiration nor does it move us toward becoming the number one education state in America."

Several regents, including Regent President Pro-tem Teresa Wahlert, who led the disbanded presidential search committee, did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment.

In an e-mail, Regent President Michael Gartner of Des Moines said he did not think Bedell's resignation would affect the UI presidential search. The regents plan to meet by phone Monday to resume the search.

Wahlert and Gartner have said they will not step down.

"I'm sorry he has resigned," Gartner wrote, adding the move came as a surprise.

Bedell becomes the fourth regent to resign in less than two years. John Forsyth, CEO of Wellmark, resigned from the board in January 2005 amid a contract battle between the state's largest health insurance provider and University Hospitals. Following Forsyth's resignation, regents David Neil and Sue Nieland resigned. That led state lawmakers to question the regents as well as university leadership.

Regent Bob Downer of Iowa City said he was "very surprised" when he heard Bedell resigned.

"I had received an e-mail from him (Wednesday) on a regent's matter, and he was certainly very engaged in the discussions at the meeting on Monday," Downer said. "As a result, I just did not anticipate anything of this nature."

Downer said he did not think Bedell's departure would affect the presidential search process "to any significant degree." Downer said he would "absolutely not" resign from the board.

Downer declined to comment on Bedell's call for new regent leadership.

UI Staff Council President Mary Greer said she thought Bedell offered good reasons for resigning.

"It's certainly not the resignation I was hoping for," Greer said. "Although he calls us disgusting and embarrassing, I think his resignation seems to support what this campus has been saying all along, that we need new leadership on the Board of Regents."

UISG President Peter McElligott said he agreed with Bedell's take on the UI-regents relationship.

"I echo what Tom says, and it's an absolute shame he had to resign," McElligott said. "He really wanted to make the University of Iowa a special place."

In his letter, Bedell recommended a "cooling off" period in the presidential search saying the atmosphere is not right for recruiting the very best candidates. He also said Fethke should stay in the post through 2007 "so we will have stability going forward."

"And the Iowa press needs to learn to be more objective and discerning in its reporting," Bedell wrote. "Thorough investigation not being completed leads to grandstanding and unfortunate, unproductive and inaccurate emotionalizing of issues."
_______________
The Associated Press and Press-Citizen reporter Rob Daniel contributed to this story.