Changes in Board of Regents policy proposed in late July by Chancellor Roderick Groves have been labelled as an attempt to gain more power over the three Regency campuses.

The Board of Regents governs NIU, Illinois State University in Normal and Sangamon State University in Springfield.

Groves’ proposal would require the presidents of the Regency universities to report to the board through the chancellor. Groves said the proposal, which was introduced at the July 26-27 Regents meetings at SSU, clarifies unclear language in the existing policy.

William Monat, NIU Regency professor and former Regents chancellor, said he believes the Board of Regents initiated the proposal, adding that Groves was “not an unwilling participant.” The Board “wants to feel it has greater control over the (Regency) campuses than it has now,” Monat said.

The proposal is a response to the Board’s “great concern that all three campuses have been wanting to chart their own paths of development,” Monat said. NIU and ISU’s attempts to establish separate governing boards in the last year are a “major part of this” proposal, he said.

Sen. Patrick Welch, D-Peru, introduced a bill to the Illinois legislature this spring calling for the removal of NIU from the Regents system and the establishment of a nine-member NIU Board of Trustees. The proposed board would be composed of student, faculty and staff voting members.

Monat said Groves’ proposal puts the presidents of the Regency universities in a “terribly awkward position.”

Members of NIU’s University Council Steering Committee have submitted a resolution to Regent Harry Wellbank asking for more time to examine the proposed changes.

Written by J. Carroll Moody, executive secretary of NIU’s University Council, the resolution states, “We urge the Board of Regents to defer action on the proposed changes in Board Policies until, at the earliest, the October Board meeting.

“Such a delay would provide time necessary for faculty, staff and students to consider the changes proposed, particularly those that appear, or may have the potential, to affect the role of faculty, staff and students in the internal governance of the university. In turn, if those constituencies develop particular concerns, they can be communicated to the Board through their own organizations or through the members of the Joint University Advisory Committee.”

Norm Magden, NIU art professor and member of JUAC, which reports to the Regents, said the exclusion of certain language eliminates “specific statements on campus governance” and encourages a “greater interpretation” of the policy.