Hometown Helena -- Thursday, March 16th: Montana University System and the Board of Regents

Hometown Helena -- Thursday, March 16th, 7 a.m. @ The Montana Club & Live via ZOOM hosted by Pinion:

  • Montana University System and the Board of Regents

 

Hometown Helena March 16, 2023

View this week's Hometown Helena courtesy of Pinion. 


Message from our host Jim Smith:

March 14, 2023


Greetings Everyone,


This week Hometown Helena is pleased to have the Montana University System and the Board of Regents join us. Dean Sandra Bauman, Ph.D. is hosting the Regents' two day meeting at Helena College, in Gene Donaldson Hall March 15-16. The seven member Board of Regents is well served by the staff of the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (OCHE), which is being ably led by Commissioner Clayton Christian. It’s quite an honor to have this prestigious group join our coffee hour this Thursday. We are humbled. John Leaf is setting up some additional chairs at the Montana Club, in expectation of a large audience this week. So please plan to attend this Hometown Helena, either in person or via the zoom link below.


The Montana University System and the OCHE has an excellent website at ‘mus.edu.’ If you get a chance, check it out. There’s a wealth of useful information on the website.


Briefly, there are seven members of the Board of Regents, appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The Board includes a student member. In addition, the Governor and the Superintendent of Public Instruction are ex-officio members. The web site lists the members of the Board of Regents, along with a brief biographical sketch of each member. I think you’ll be impressed with the competence and qualifications of every member of the Board; and with the diversity of their backgrounds, life experiences. They are a genuine cross section of Montana.

The Montana University System, the OCHE and the Board of Regents is quite literally a creation of the 1972 Montana Constitution. The Constitution says the following about the regents:


“The government and control of the Montana university system is vested in a board of regents of higher education which shall have full power, responsibility, and authority to supervise, coordinate, manage and control the Montana university system.”


The actual implementation of that particular constitutional provision has played out in various ways over the last fifty years: vis a vis the executive branch, at legislative sessions, and in the courts.


My own view is that the constitutional authority of the Board of Regents is now firmly established, and that the Board of Regents and the OCHE have made great progress developing a true Montana university system out of the previously autonomous individual units. Big changes take time to manifest themselves on the ground and in the day to day lives of people. But I do believe that the big change made in 1972 to higher education in Montana is working out very well for students, their families, and the state as a whole.


We’ll get a chance to hear more, and learn more Thursday morning. Look forward to seeing you, either in person or on the zoom!


Jim Smith

More about Hometown Helena:

  • Online Meeting Instructions: Please keep your phone or microphone muted during the meeting and note that your camera may be on depending on your ZOOM settings. Please "raise your hand" at the start of the meeting if you will have an opening update or introduction.


  • In-Person Announcements: Please plan on approaching the front of the room to make announcements directly to our host so online attendees can hear. There is time at the beginning of the meeting for announcements.


  • View Program Recording: Hometown Helena is recorded and posted at HometownHelena.news, typically within a day.


  • Hometown Email List: This private email list is not shared. You can join or update your email information at HometownHelena.news or by clicking the button below.

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The Hometown Helena Team is Jim Smith, Rick Hays, Kelly Cresswell, Emily McVey, Emily Frazier, Ali Mandell, Tom McGree, Peter Strauss, Haley McKnight and Matt Elsaesser