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Regent Candidate Advisory CouncilMEETING
MINUTES
Present: Absent: Nedra Wicks, Chair Joe Aitken
The Regent Candidate Advisory Council was called to order by Nedra Wicks, RCAC Chair, at 1:05 p.m. in Room 400S of the State Office Building. She introduced Jennifer Ridgeway, who is the new administrative assistant for the Legislative Coordinating Commission. The minutes of the RCAC meeting of October 22, 1999, were approved as circulated. Ms. Wicks reviewed the agenda. She opened the floor for announcements. Announcements Ms. Wicks reported that she and Chad Thuet have been in contact with House and Senate leadership staff in regard to RCAC reappointments. Leadership staff had planned to complete reappointments and appointments before the April 14th meeting, but this has not happened. Pursuant to Minn. Stat. 15.0575, subd. 2, members may serve until their successors are appointed but in no case later than July 1 in a year in which a term expires unless reappointed. The Senate has indicated that they would consider appointing members not reappointed by the House. Ms. Wicks reported that she has been in email contact with Barb Patterson. She asked Ms. Wicks to thank the council for her retirement gift. Mary McLeod reported on alumni board news. At a recent meeting, she was able to ask some of the current regents if they expected to reapply. Those regents had not made a final decision. The suggestion was made that the council give special attention during recruiting to the amount of time that candidates have available for service. Ms. McLeod also noted that the issues committee has asked the board and past presidents of the alumni association to start recruitment efforts for the opening regent positions. The committee also suggested adding extension service individuals to the mailing list. Les Heen of the U of MN Alumni Association was in attendance, and he reported that a letter has already gone out from the issues committee to an extension service list. Committee Reports RCAC Evaluations: Carol Batsell-Benner was unable to attend the meeting, but she had provided the council with a report. Ms. Batsell-Benner had reviewed past evaluations and reports of the RCAC, and it was her conclusion that a continuous review of current policies and procedures, but not an evaluation, is sufficient at this time. Recruitment & Public Relations: Billie Young reported on the recruitment and public relations activities of the council, and she distributed a report along with a draft letter and news release. Ms. Young reported that the shared RCAC-TCAC mailing list was recently updated for the TCAC recruitment process. That list does not currently include extension people, but staff were directed to make that addition. Based on past recruitment, Ms. Young suggested a timeline for mailing press releases and letters announcing board openings. Council discussion included recommendations that: the chair attempt to determine the intent of current regents to reapply prior to the issuance of the fall press releases and mailings; the circulated draft of the news release include more information on the duties and responsibilities of the regents and clarify the language regarding the student applicant; and the timing of the fall mailing should be early enough to meet the deadlines of organizational newsletters and publications, perhaps mid-September. Suggestions made in regard to how the council could attract more women and people of color as applicants included the use of advertisements and informational sessions, particularly through minority outlets. Informational sessions might engage former regents in informal Q&A sessions. Discussion further covered strategies to engage the various media and utilize website linkages. Council members were reminded of the importance of individually recruiting prospective applicants on an ongoing basis. Document Review: Jona Turner was not able to attend the meeting, but she did ask staff to report. The application was updated during the past year, so little changes are needed. Staff will change the information in regard to which positions are open, the deadline to submit the application, and the contact information. Staff were also directed by the council to add a section indicating how the applicant heard about the open position. The council also reviewed past suggestions for changes to the application. These included a suggestion to add statistical information on race/ethnicity, gender, and disability, as well as a suggestion to clarify the primary residence of the applicant. The council did not act on either of these suggestions. Mr. Thuet distributed a copy of Minn. Stat. 13.43 regarding data privacy. In the past, the application has not clearly indicated what information is public and what information is private. Instead, a waiver has been sent out with each application. It states that by signing the waiver, individuals’ addresses and telephone numbers can be shared with legislative and alumni association staff. State law defines what information is public when a candidate is considered a finalist for a board position. Mr. Thuet noted that the TCAC application happens to be divided in such a way that the public and private information are separated. This makes dividing the applications easier when someone requests the public portion. The council recommended that those sections of the application which are public and private information should be clearly identified, and that a calendar of key dates in the regent selection process be included in the informational packets sent to applicants. There was discussion as to the extent to which all data provided by applicants was verified by the council. A motion was made and approved to direct staff, in consultation with Ms. Wicks and Dr. Doermann, to update and finalize the 2001 application form for public distribution. Terms: Mary McLeod reported on the work of her committee. Her subcommittee was charged with determining whether a stub term should be counted as one of the terms in the council’s two-term limit. The subcommittee recommended that a regent’s stub term be counted as a full term if it is greater than or equal to four years. The subcommittee, to be consistent, suggested limiting RCAC members to two terms as well. The same policy on stub terms would apply. After discussion as to the effective date for the two proposed new policies of operation for the RCAC, the following motions were made, seconded, and approved.
Interview Process & Questions: Paul Dovre and Rondi Erickson led this subcommittee. Recommendation was made and accepted by the council to reword question #7 on the application form. The method used by the committee to evaluate the content of previous interview questions and develop the proposed recommendations was shared with the council. Discussion of the proposed interview questions resulted in the deletion of item 7 of the proposed interview questions and the acceptance of all others. There was discussion as to whether to distribute these questions to candidates prior to their interviews, or to follow the TCAC model of providing each interviewee with a list of issue areas from which they might expect questions. References: Mr. Naumann reviewed the Reference Subcommittee’s report which suggests ways to ensure consistency when checking candidate references. The report included a list of questions that each council members should ask of the reference. He suggested that members should target references that can speak to the candidate’s employment and governing board experience. Mr. Naumann clarified that the three-call target means three interviews completed satisfactorily. Council members concurred with the recommendations. Staff will provide the necessary number of interview forms to council members at the time reference check assignments are made. Nominee Orientation: Mr. Albrecht stated that he will have a written report for the council at the September 15th meeting. His committee will be meeting over the coming months to discuss the agenda and finalize the time and place of the orientation. He suggested that the orientation be held in the new McNamara Center. The council agreed that he should pursue this option. Mr. Kanatz noted that the location might be more difficult for legislators to get to during session. The council agreed that he should pursue this option, taking into consideration ease of access for participants. The orientation date for finalists is to be included on the calendar of activities sent out to applicants, and also in the materials sent to those candidates selected for interviews by the council. Mr. Naumann asked about having an orientation for individuals selected for interviews. Ms. Wicks suggested using informational materials for that group. Technology & Communication: Rebecca Mathern was not able to attend the meeting. She did suggest, however, that the council look at using technology more in its communication. Based on conversations with Ms. Mathern as to how technology could be used to expedite council communications, staff presented a report on current practices and capabilities. Mr. Naumann offered his expertise to assist in this area as requested. The council recommended fax and email information be added to the list of personal information collected on the application. RCAC Meeting Schedule and Activity Timeline Ms. Wicks reviewed the schedule adopted by the council at its last meeting. No changes were suggested. Program for September 15th Meeting Council member suggestions for the September program focused around two topics: 1) issues facing major research institutions, and 2) how to effectively assess the skills and knowledge base of applicants. It was agreed that the chair would arrange for a presentation that would address both of these areas. The council agreed that the meeting date could be moved to another Friday afternoon in September, if necessary to accommodate the speaker(s) schedule. It was the concurrence of the council that, if possible, the fall meeting be held on campus at the Gateway Center. Regents Meeting Schedule Ms. Wicks asked for volunteers to attend the upcoming Board meetings. Volunteers are as follows: June 8-9: Kanatz, Wicks, and Young July 13-14: Erickson September 7-8: Dovre Other Business Mr. Thuet shared a memo from Senate Counsel Peter Watson. The TCAC recently worked with counsel to amend their voting procedures, addressing concerns about open meeting laws and ending the practice of secret balloting. The council agreed to discuss this issue in greater detail at a future meeting. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:12 p.m.
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