MONTGOMERY -- The University of West Alabama board of trustees will ask state lawmakers to approve changes to the regional institution’s charter.
The changes would allow the school to establish a mechanism for removing board members, allow the review the appointment of senior administrators by the UWA president and allow trustees to meet and vote by telephone.
The board’s executive committee approved a draft bill recommended by the bylaws committee on Wednesday during a meeting at UWA’s regional office in Montgomery. Any amendments to the board’s authority in the university’s charter would have to be approved by the Alabama Legislature. The regular session begins Jan. 9.
If the changes to the university charter are approved, the board of trustees would be able to subsequently amend its bylaws, said Trustee Justin Smith, who chairs the bylaw committee.
The proposed bill would add clauses to the UWA charter in the Code of Alabama allowing trustees to be removed for criminal convictions, missing three consecutive meetings or violating conflict of interest rules. Currently there is no board mechanism for the removal of a trustee.
The bylaws committee proposed Wednesday to treat misdemeanors and felonies differently.
A trustee would be automatically removed if the trustee is convicted of a felony. A board member could be removed by a majority vote following a due-process hearing if the member has been convicted of a misdemeanor involving fraud, theft or embezzlement.
Trustee Randy Hillman raised questions about the clarity of the language in the original draft, which list convictions of felonious crimes or crimes involving fraud, embezzlement, or dishonesty as grounds for removal.
“I think any member convicted of any of these crimes should be automatically removed from the board. I don’t think there should be a hearing for the board,” said trustee Jerry Smith, who also serves as the board's president.
The executive committee would begin the process by recommending a trustee be removed. A trustee would receive notice of the allegations from the president of the board. A trustee facing allegations would have an opportunity to answer the charges in a hearing during a properly announced board meeting. After the hearing, the board of trustees would vote whether to remove the board member based on the charges. Upon removal of a trustee, the governor would appoint a replacement.
A history of sanctions for micromanagement helped shape the discussion of the provision that would give the board a chance to review senior administrative appointments.
The bill would add language to the UWA charter giving the board the ability to review and concur with the president’s appointments of senior cabinet members including:
• The provost
• The vice presidents of student affairs, business affairs, and institutional advancement
• The athletic director
• Any other member of the president’s council or similar body.
The university’s charter was amended in 2006 to give the president the sole authority to hire employees, set salaries and define the duties. That amendment was part of organizational changes at UWA meant to satisfy concerns about trustee micromanagement raised during an investigation and probation imposed by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 2003.
The provision would not grant future boards additional authority over hiring university administrators, Smith said.
“We are not saying you can’t hire this person,” JSmith said.
The review would be similar to the approval by the Alabama Senate of appointments of university trustees by the governor, according to trustee Justin Smith. The board would vote to concur with the president’s appointments to senior staff positions.
“We would basically serve as the Senate and should give great deference to the president,” Justin Smith said.
UWA President Ken Tucker, who listened to the meeting by phone, did not raise any objections to the proposal, saying it codified a process that, in practice, already existed.
The bill would also add language giving the board review and approval of academic and honorary degrees.
The ability for trustees to participate in meetings remotely has been a goal of the board for a few years, Justin Smith said. The discussion previously has noted similar options for other university boards and the remote location of UWA’s campus in Livingston.
The proposed bill would allow the board and its committees to meet and vote remotely by telephone or other communications equipment. Public notices must be given in accordance with the Alabama Open Meetings Act, and the public would be able to listen to the meetings.
The discussion of telephone meetings has weighed the ability of trustees to vote by phone against concerns that the ability to participate remotely would be a disincentive to attend meetings in person at the campus in Livingston.
Reach Ed Enoch at ed.enoch@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0209.