H. B. 2056
(By Delegate Doyle)
[Introduced February 13, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Education.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article six, chapter eighteen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to higher
education; and the composition of institutional boards of
advisors.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article six, chapter eighteen-b of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. ADVISORY COUNCILS OF FACULTY.
§18B-6-1. Institutional boards of advisors.
(a) There shall be established at each state institution of
higher education, hereinafter referred to as the "institution,"
excluding centers and branches thereof, an institutional board of
advisors. The board of advisors shall consist of eleven members, including an administrative officer of the institution appointed by the president of the institution; a full-time member of the
faculty with the rank of instructor or above duly elected by the
faculty; a member of the student body in good academic standing,
enrolled for college credit work and duly elected by the student
body; a member of the institutional classified staff duly elected
by the classified staff; and, appointed by the appropriate
governing board, seven lay citizens of the state who have
demonstrated a sincere interest in and concern for the welfare of
that institution and who are representative of its population and
fields of study, including at least two alumni of the
institution. Of the seven lay citizen members, no more than four
may be of the same political party.
The administrative officer and student member shall serve
for a term of one year; the faculty member and the classified
staff member shall serve for a term of two years and the seven
lay citizen members shall serve terms of four years each. All
members, except the administrative officer, shall be eligible to
succeed themselves for no more than one additional term. A
vacancy in an unexpired term of a member shall be filled within
sixty days of the occurrence thereof in the same manner as the
original appointment or election. Except in the case of a
vacancy, all elections shall be held and all appointments shall
be made no later than the thirtieth day of April preceding the
commencement of the term.
Each board of advisors shall hold a regular meeting at least quarterly, commencing in July of each year. Additional meetings
may be held upon the call of the chairman, president of the
institution or upon the written request of at least four members.
A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum for
conducting the business of the board of advisors.
(b) One of the seven lay citizen members shall be elected as
chairman by the board of advisors in July of each year:
Provided, That no member shall serve as chairman for more than
two consecutive years at a time.
The president of the institution shall make available
resources of the institution for conducting the business of the
board of advisors. The members of the board of advisors shall be
reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually
incurred in the performance of their official duties under this
section upon presentation of an itemized sworn statement thereof.
All expenses incurred by the board of advisors and the
institution under this section shall be paid from funds allocated
to the institution for such purpose.
(c) The board of advisors shall review, prior to the
submission by the president to its governing board, all proposals
of the institution in the areas of mission, academic programs,
budget, capital facilities and such other matters as requested by
the president of the institution or its governing board or
otherwise assigned to it by law. The board of advisors shall
comment on each such proposal in writing, with such recommendations for concurrence therein or revision or rejection
thereof as it deems proper. Such written comments and
recommendations shall accompany the proposal to the governing
board and the governing board shall include such comments and
recommendations in its consideration of and action on the
proposal. The governing board shall promptly acknowledge receipt
of the comments and recommendations and shall notify the board of
advisors in writing of any action taken thereon.
(d) The board of advisors shall review, prior to their
implementation by the president, all proposals regarding
institution-wide personnel policies. The board of advisors may
comment on such proposals in writing.
(e) The board of advisors shall provide advice and
assistance to the president in establishing closer connections
between higher education and business, labor, government,
community and economic development organizations to give students
greater opportunities to experience the world of work, such as
business and community service internships, apprenticeships and
cooperative programs; to communicate better and serve the current
work force and work force development needs of their service
area, including the needs of nontraditional students for college- level skills upgrading and retraining and the needs of employers
for specific programs of limited duration; and to assess the
performance of the institution's graduates and assist in job
placement. The administrative officer of the institution serving on the advisory council may be assigned the responsibility for
coordinating the institution's activities related to economic
development.
(f) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in the office of
president of the institution, the board of advisors shall serve
as a search and screening committee for candidates to fill the
vacancy under guidelines established by its governing board.
When serving as a search and screening committee, the board of
advisors and its governing board are each authorized to shall
appoint up to three six additional persons to serve on the
committee as long as the search and screening process is in
effect. The three six additional appointees of the board of
advisors shall be composed of three faculty members and three
classified staff members of the institution. The board of
advisors is authorized to appoint up to three additional persons
to serve on the committee as long as the search and screening
process is in effect. Only for the purposes of the search and
screening process, such additional members shall possess the same
powers and rights as the regular members of the board of
advisors, including reimbursement for all reasonable and
necessary expenses actually incurred. Following the search and
screening process, the committee shall submit the names of at
least three candidates to the governing board for consideration
and appointment. If the governing board rejects all candidates
so submitted, the committee shall submit the names of at least three additional candidates, and this process shall be repeated
until the governing board appoints one of the candidates so
submitted. The governing board shall provide all necessary staff
assistance to the board of advisors in its role as a search and
screening committee.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to add additional persons
to serve on a search and screening committee (composed of 3
classified staff members and 3 faculty members who shall be
appointed by the board of advisors) of an institutional board of
advisors when it is acting as a presidential search committee.
The bill also authorizes the governing board to appoint up to 3
additional persons to the committee.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.