HCS HB 194 -- HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

SPONSOR:  Williams (Hosmer)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on
Education-Higher by a vote of 11 to 2.

This substitute authorizes a faculty representative as a
nonvoting member of the governing boards of the University of
Missouri, the regional state colleges and universities, Truman
State University, and Lincoln University.  The faculty
representative to each institution's governing board is
appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the
Senate, from a panel of nominees selected by the faculty
senate.  The faculty representative must be a U.S. citizen, a
Missouri resident, and a full-time, tenured member of the
faculty, who is to serve a single term of 2 years.  The faculty
representative is authorized to receive the same reimbursement
for expenses as other board members, must attend all meetings of
the board, and has all of the powers of the other board members,
except the right to vote.  Technical changes to accommodate the
addition of a nonvoting faculty member representative are made
to several sections of law.  The substitute permits the regional
colleges, Truman State, and Lincoln to close meetings to the
faculty and student representatives and requires all board
members at these institutions to observe confidentiality.  The
provisions concerning the student representative at Lincoln
University are revised to make them consistent with the other
student representative sections concerning participation in
meetings, compensation, and payment of student fees; and the
powers of the Truman State student representative are clarified.

The substitute also requires the Coordinating Board for Higher
Education to catalogue and promote service learning programs at
public higher education institutions.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that having a faculty representative
on the board as a matter of statute rather than by individual
university policy helps legitimize the faculty's role, building
on the informal relationships that have already been established
at most institutions, and protects the faculty role from shifts
in policy.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Hosmer; Missouri
Association of Faculty Senates; and Missouri Conference of the
American Association of University Professors.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Becky DeNeve, Senior Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated November 26, 2001 at 11:42 am