Board of Regents tells legislators they will pursue intellectual diversity through policy. Because that’s worked well to date?

Pat Powers

While we’ve been busy paying attention to the election, the battle for free speech on our University Campuses has continued on, with individual legislators seeking more information from the South Dakota Board of Regents on how they intend to live up to their acknowledgement that “there needs to be more aggressive policies regarding free speech and expression.”

In a recent response to State Senator Jim Stalzer, and State Representative Sue Peterson who had posed additional questions to the governing body of our State’s board of higher education, the Board of Regents laid out to the legislators how they intend to follow up on the issue:

2018-1101 SDBOR Response to Stalzer-Peterson Free Speech Letter by Pat Powers on Scribd

In response to the question asking Regents to “explain in detail how the BOR will aggressively pursue the promotion of intellectual diversity on South Dakota campuses,” I distinctly get the impression that they aren’t taking the question as seriously as intended:

The presidents of our institutions are charged with providing academic leadership and promoting academic excellence at their institutions and formulating educational policies and academic standards consistent with BOR policy. It is through BOR policy and the BOR’s employment and oversight of the presidents of our institutions that it ensures and promotes a commitment to intellectual diversity on our campuses.

It might be just me, but it sounds like they’re going to do what they’ve always done on it. Ignore the issue until someone presses it.  But, given our new Governor’s statements on the matter, I don’t think ignoring it is an option:

Given the rising level of censorship and the concerning limits placed on student’s exposure to differing perspectives, it’s important the legislature act to permanently protect intellectual diversity on taxpayer-funded campuses. Free speech in these places is not optional. It is a constitutional right students are entitled to.

We’ll see if the BOR is singing the same tune in front of the legislature in January.

12 thoughts on “Board of Regents tells legislators they will pursue intellectual diversity through policy. Because that’s worked well to date?”

  2. Thank you legislators for taking on this important issue. The way I read the Regents letter is “F— You Legislators, we’re doing it our way”

    1. When Regents are worth tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars its hard for a $6k a year legislator to tell them no.

  3. well now, what a rude letter from the Regents to the state legislature. something tells me that the geniuses at the Regent office in Pierre misfired badly on this belligerent non-response

  4. The BOR and university presidents have been pretending that the problem does not exist or ignoring it because it favors the liberal indoctrination that is rampant at the universities It is, therefore, time for the legislators to act.

  5. The Regent office knows there is zero intellectual diversity on campus and they are just hoping the critics give up. It is a bad strategy of denial. Some people know it has to be addressed. The campuses also need to step up leadership on this.

  6. I’m curious; who are the members of the BOR and what are their political affiliations? Is there diversity on the BOR?

  7. I had to read the letter three times because I was incredulous. The delusion there is either diversity or vigorous intellectual thought in our regential system is obviously beyond the pale. It is starting to get into crazy land.

  8. Regents blowing off legislators. Hope they fight back. Taxpayers are sick of liberal control over campus.

    1. liberal control of South Dakota Universities? Which ones? Examples? Never heared of them is liberal controlled.

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