THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	51
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		Proposed

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

urging the Candidate Advisory Council for the Board of Regents to convene a working group of students to develop and implement a modified process for the selection of the candidates for the student member of the Board of Regents.

     WHEREAS, pursuant to section 304A-104, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the University of Hawaii Board of Regents consists of fifteen members who serve five year terms; provided that the term of the student member shall be two years; and

     WHEREAS, Act 56, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007, created the Candidate Advisory Council for the Board of Regents to establish the criteria for qualifying, screening, and presenting to the Governor pools of qualified candidates from which the members of the Board of Regents shall be nominated and, by and with the consent of the Senate, appointed by the Governor; and

     WHEREAS, the Advisory Council is responsible for:

     (1)  Developing and distributing a statement to potential candidates that includes the selection criteria to be applied and a description of the responsibilities and duties of a member of the Board of Regents;

     (2)  Screening and qualifying candidates for each position on the Board based on their background, experience, and potential for discharging the responsibilities of a member of the Board;

     (3)  Advertising pending vacancies and actively soliciting and accepting applications from potential candidates;

     (4)  Developing and implementing a fair, independent, and nonpartisan procedure for selecting candidates to serve on the Board; and

     (5)  Requiring candidate disclose of contracts or financial transactions with the University of Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, while, in general, this process has resulted in pools of candidates who are qualified to accept and discharge the responsibilities and duties of a member of the Board of Regents; and

     WHEREAS, this process, however, does not differentiate between a member of the Board of Regents who may be appointed to serve a full five-year term and the student member, who is appointed to serve a two-year term; and

     WHEREAS, in addition to the differences in the length of the terms, the student member is the only member of the Board of Regents who represents a specific constituency, i.e., the students of the University of Hawaii System; and

     WHEREAS, this constituency is extremely diverse, and the student member represents students of all ages, from the first-year community college level to the postgraduate level, on ten campuses statewide; and

     WHEREAS, as a result, the role of the student member of the Board of Regents is doubly challenging and may require additional considerations in selecting candidates for the student member; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Candidate Advisory Council for the Board of Regents is urged to convene a working group of students to develop and implement a modified process for the selection of the candidates for the student member of the University of Hawaii Board of Regents; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to establish a process to ensure student involvement in the recruitment and evaluation of candidates for the student member of the Board of Regents prior to submission of the candidate pool to the Governor; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group include representatives from each campus, the University of Hawaii Student Caucus, the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii, and other student organizations as may be appropriate; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Candidate Advisory Council for the Board of Regents is requested to report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Candidate Advisory Council for the Board of Regents, the University of Hawaii Student Caucus, and the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii.

Report Title: 

UH; Candidate Advisory Council; Student Member Selection Process