Board of Regents will choose new chair and vice chairmen, discuss raise in housing costs

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will meet for the first time in 2012 on Friday and choose a new chairman, as well as a new vice chairman of the board.

Every January, a new chairman and new vice chairman are chosen amongst the board members. They will serve in their roles for the calendar year, said Melissa Lee, university spokeswoman.

The chair runs the board meetings, appoints new committee chairs and works closely with University of Nebraska President James B. Milliken.

"It'll be done right at the beginning (of the meeting) in the first 10 minutes," said Regent Bob Whitehouse of Omaha and current board chairman. "Whoever is selected, or elected, will take over and that will be the person who works with the executive committee to set meetings."

Before the meeting begins, the committees will meet in the morning to discuss various topics. One of the bigger topics this Friday is the session on Building a Healthier Nebraska legislative initiative.

"That's something we're pretty excited about, on a variety of different fronts," said Regent Tim Clare of Lincoln. "We've allocated 90 minutes for it, so I think it's going to be a pretty good discussion."

The session will include presentations from Milliken, University of Nebraska Medical Center Chancellor Harold Maurer and Nebraska Medical Center President Glenn Fosdick, UNMC College of Nursing Dean Juliann Sebastian, University of Nebraska at Kearney Chancellor Doug Kristensen and UNMC School of Allied Health Professions Senior Associate Dean Kyle Meyer and Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Vice Chancellor Ronnie Green, according to the university press release.

Clare said he was excited about the legislation because as a land-grant institution, the university has a duty to the state to look out for the interests of Nebraska.

The University of Nebraska will work with the legislature and Gov. Dave Heineman to emphasize to them the importance of this initiative, even if it doesn't seem like the right time, Clare said.

"Is it the right time?" he asked. "I don't know if there is a right time. I do know that if you wait for the right time, you've missed it."

During the actual meeting, the board will be asked to approve three items of business. One of those is the residence hall rates at the UNK, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is not included because it asks the board to approve rates once every five years instead of annually like the others.

"Really, room and board is what we're looking at," Whitehouse said. "And as you look at the price of food, I think that's the biggest cost."

Clare said there were two reasons why institutions raise rates on a regular basis. One is to make sure the university is competitive and the other is to analyze it in terms of how it impacts the finances of the university and the students.

"We need to be competitive," he said. "We need to consider what the rates charge, for recruiting and retention purposes."

The board will consider the two following items at its Friday meeting:

- The creation of a Ph.D. in epidemiology at UNMC, which is the study of health events, characteristic or determinant patterns in a population.

- The program statement and budget for a Biomechanics Research Facility at UNO.

franniesprouls@dailynebraskan.com