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Regent McFayden asked General Counsel Rowe if it were permissible to comment, to which he shook his head.

Alumnus Ron Moore addressed Senate. He noted he was a student at the University from 1971-75 and that the professors would make students aware of world events. He praised faculty for their daily work. He noted having attended a recent Board of Regent meeting and registered disbelief that President Thompson was not among the group of finalists. He also praised the two Board members who refused to vote without documentation and he explained that alumni would have liked to have played a larger role in the selection process.

A motion to extend time for 10 minutes passed unanimously.

Mr. Moore went on to say that Regent McFayden attended a meeting and complained about President Thompson. Regent McFayden interjected to say that he was not true. Mr. Moore also said that he had received a call from the Chair of the Board asking what he wanted. He expressed concern about the process. He said he also learned that a fourth candidate's name had been sent to the Chair.

General Counsel Rowe attempted to stop Mr. Moore from speaking and noted there would be consequences for what he was saying. Mr. Moore responded by saying he was not an employee of the University and had a constitutional right to speak. He then asked faculty if they had been well informed during the process by the Faculty Regent. Regent McFayden responded that Mr. Moore had crossed a line.

Chair Rye added that the Senate had asked for more faculty representation on the committee and that other public universities in the state had at least 20% of the committee composed of faculty. She related how Dr. Jackson had passed along the faculty request for more representation and that it was denied.

Past Faculty Senate President Smith challenged the notion that best practices were followed when the Board had been asked to vote without seeing vitas.

Time was extended, by unanimous vote, for another 10 minutes.

A guest noted the positive changes at the University over the last year, including improving retention rates, better pass rates in Math and English, improved relations with P-12 and the community overall. Despite these improvements, the university is not yet stable and so we therefore need a candidate who has been vetted and tested as Dr. Thompson has been.

Chair Andries argued that the biggest problem with the process is that it has been difficult to follow. One needs to check the daily calendar vigilantly to know when a meeting is taking place and there has not been a chance for input. There is concern about how the state government will look at what has been done here.

A motion to extend time for another 20 minutes passed unanimously.