GazetteOnline
Student Assembly Meeting
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Vote of No Confidence in Governor Vilsack SA-R -0612-002
Submitted by: UCS Executive Weber, UAS Executive Dingbaum, President McElligott, Senator Gajdos and Senator Westercamp

Student Assembly Action: _________________ ON _________________

WHEREAS Governor Thomas Vilsack appointed all sitting members to the Board of Regents and has expressed his support of the current Board of Regents leadership;

WHEREAS the current Board of Regents lacks the faith and support of the University of Iowa community as a result of the failed presidential search;

WHEREAS this insufficient and severely mismanaged search process damages and threatens the reputation and future of the State of Iowa and University of Iowa;

WHEREAS the selection and appointment of qualified and unbiased members to the Board of Regents is essential to the success of the Regent institutions;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University of Iowa Student Government no longer has faith in Governor Vilsack’s leadership nor his ability to make qualified appointments to the Board of Regents;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the University of Iowa Student Government has no confidence in Governor Vilsack.

Student Assembly Action: _______________ ON ___________________

WHEREAS Iowa Code Chapter 262 requires the State of Iowa Board of Regents to appoint the president of the University of Iowa;

WHEREAS the policies of the State of Iowa Board of Regents call for members to advocate for and exercise “responsible stewardship of resources” with “open, effective communication” and a “public accountability;”

WHEREAS the State of Iowa Board of Regents assembled a University of Iowa Presidential Search Committee whose sole purpose was to find applicants qualified to be named the next University of Iowa President;

WHEREAS, the Board of Regents, by dissolving the Search Committee and dissolving the hope of attracting any of the named, qualified candidates to serve as our President, single-handedly destroyed the search process;

WHEREAS the failed search process is a squandering of education tax dollars in the form of a payment totaling nearly $200,000 to the firm Heidrick & Struggles and undisclosed reimbursements to Search Committee members;

WHEREAS the search process itself was heavily scrutinized for its excessive invocations of confidentiality, the menial inclusion of student input, and the disrespect shown to the university community through unprofessional communiqué;

WHEREAS the only legitimate way to select a leader of the University of Iowa can no longer include the involvement of the current leadership of the Board of Regents;

WHEREAS the UISG feels the Board of Regents no longer has the ability to conduct any work without further marring the reputation of the University of Iowa;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the University of Iowa Student Government has no confidence in the leadership of the State of Iowa Board of Regents.

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Iowa Student Government condemns the recent actions of the State of Iowa Board of Regents leadership regarding the University of Iowa Presidential Search Process.