Students at Iowa State often go through their entire college careers without understanding much about the state Board of Regents.

Just what is it this mysterious committee does for ISU?

“OK, safe answer: They make decisions,” said Jennifer Owens, a senior in hotel, restaurant and institution management, about the duties of the Board of Regents.

“The Board of Regents is a group of people who govern all the state universities,” said Jeremy Galvin, a senior in elementary education. Galvin said while some students understand the duties of the Board of Regents, this information is not readily available to the ISU population.

“Last year [the Board of Regents] were advising us on the new alcohol policy. We were told to contact our local regents member, but nobody knew who they were. That information just isn’t made available to the student population,” he said.

Although the Board of Regents makes decisions that affect ISU students concerning tuition, academic programming and campus development, many students do not know how the regents are selected, who the regents are and what the board does for Iowa State.

What does the Board of Regents do?

“Our purpose is to represent the people of Iowa in setting the policies of the Regents universities,” Regent Ellengray Kennedy of Bancroft said. “We leave the planning and leadership up to the universities.”

Regent John Tyrrell of Manchester said, “Basically, the legislature has set up the board to have complete authority to manage the institutions. The board is allowed to delegate as much as it chooses. But, for the most part, it is the governing group.”

The board, which governs ISU, the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa, the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School and the Iowa School for the Deaf, meets once a month on a rotating basis at one of the five learning institutions.

Because Regents members are not paid for the many hours they spend researching issues and meeting with school representatives, Kennedy said there is a unifying desire among the Regents to do what is best for Iowans.

“It is a challenge taking all the points of view and meshing them to come up with the best solution. The thing that impresses me most about the group was their desire to do what was best for the students and people of Iowa,” she said.

“[Regents must have] a willingness to serve. You must be willing to do the voluminous amount of reading it takes to research the issues,” Tyrrell said. He said he prepares for meetings by reading meeting dockets, as well as numerous student and community newspapers, which contain the opinions of his student constituents.

Regents members not only serve Iowa, but gain a valuable and unique experience as decision-makers.

“It’s the best education I’ve ever had. No system is as unique as higher education. I look at it as a way for growth and a way to serve the people of Iowa,” Kennedy said.

Tyrrell said he has enjoyed getting to meet the educators and administrators of the Regents institutions.

“Martin Jischke is a great, great person to work with. He has made some great moves for Iowa State,” Tyrrell added.

How are the Regents selected?

“The Regents are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate,” said John Anderson, university relations interim director. The volunteer committee is selected to represent a diversity in geography, gender and political preference and serve six-year, staggered terms.

“The make-up of the Board is required to be bipartisan,” Anderson said. Of the nine-member board, no more than five members can be from one political party. This consideration is meant to ensure that the board maintains a balance between democratic and republican ideals.

Tyrrell said that although there are many qualified candidates, he “happened to be a male republican in the right part of the state at the right time.”

“I have had a long-term interest in education,” Tyrrell said. Although he earned his B.S. and M.D. from the University of Iowa, Tyrrell said he has developed a deep respect for all regents schools since he was appointed in 1991.

Kennedy said she has asked herself several times why she got the opportunity to serve on the Board of Regents in 1995.

“We have to have a balance of representation from all areas of the state. We must represent all the people of Iowa. My profile fit what they needed,” she said.

Kennedy received her B.S. degree in mathematics in 1977, and her M.B.A. in 1989, both from the University of South Dakota. She lives in Bancroft with her husband and her two sons, ages 13 and 17.

Who are the Regents?

One misconception about the Board of Regents is that they are university faculty. Regents members are not employed by the state universities, and in some cases were not affiliated with them before they were appointed to the board. While all members have been involved in some aspect of education, they all hold jobs separate from their duties as Regents.

Kennedy, a self-described business woman and educator, is the director of the Briar Cliff College Algona Center and has taught at the Iowa Lakes Community College and North Kossuth Middle School. With a background in banking, she is president of Kennedy Bros. Co., a family-owned department store in Bancroft.

She currently served on the Bancroft Economic Development Board, the Kossuth County Hospital Financial Advisory Board and the St. John Elementary School Board.

Tyrrell, who is a member of the Iowa Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the Iowa and American Academies of Family Practice, owns his own family physician practice in Manchester.

“I have developed a habit of practicing medicine, but being involved in many areas of the outside world,” Tyrrell said. “I guess you could call me an involved person.”

The other members of the 1996-97 board are President Owen Newlin, Des Moines; James Arenson; Thomas Dorr, Marcus; Roger Lande, Muscatine; Aileen Mahood, Indianola; Nancy Pellett, Atlantic; Beverly Smith, Waterloo; and James Arenson.