THE UOG Board of Regents was supposedly shocked to hear the complaint of the UOG Faculty Senate regarding the refusal of Gov. Felix P. Camacho to pick one of the two former UOG professors, Karen Carpenter and Robert Sajnovsky, to serve on the board.
What was really shocking was the BOR’s inability to be good stewards of the trust the public expects of them in that they, the regents, are supposed to WATCH OUT for the integrity and autonomy of the university, not owe allegiance to the man who selected them. UOG’s welfare is more important than Felix P. Camacho’s “choice,” or lack thereof.
Having said that, the process of nominating regents can be “cooked” despite all the public laws designed to keep political interference outside that ivory tower. As an example, when I was on the nominating council in my capacity as Student Government President in ’86-’87, I nominated several folks (like others did) that I thought then Gov. Joe Ada would find “suitable.” Since all CEOs have their preferences, right? Of course, the worst kept secret then was that Joe Ada’s friend, Wilfred P. Leon Guerrero, was the ideal person for the job. (And I believed it too and he, Dr. Leon Guerrero, was a terrific president and the university raised tremendous amounts of capital and no loss of autonomy.)
So I actually went to Dr. Leon Guerrero and asked him who he thought Joe Ada would prefer to serve on the board (which would have occurred anyway). And I am pretty sure the governor now wants the “3rd person,” in this case Bill Leon Guerrero for a reason, good or bad, I don’t know. But the laws now are more specific and stringent, if you will, and it is for the betterment of the institution. At least it gives an appearance of a “hands off.”
Doesn’t the governor of California sit as chair of the California University system? If local taxes make up a big portion of UOG’s budget, why not let Gov. Camacho in the “front door” instead of the “back door”? If we can’t “trust” him with higher education what can we trust him with, “lower” education?

MATT PHILLIPS
Mangilao, Guam