Two members were named Thursday to Gov. Arne Carlson’s three-member panel to try to ease strained relations between the Board of Regents and University faculty members.
Carlson intervened in the University’s ongoing tenure standoff last week because he feared the implications it would have for the University and the state.
Carlson announced during a television interview that Anne Berry, Jim Hetland and Lawrence Perlman would sit on the committee to discuss how the tenure issue can be resolved, said Brian Dietz, the Governor’s communication manager. Perlman has since told Carlson he does not want to serve on the panel.
Dietz said Carlson will announce a third panel member by the end of the week to join Berry, the state health commissioner, and Hetland, former University Law School dean.
Employee relations commissioner Wayne Simoneau, who helped appoint the committee members, said the date of the committee’s first meeting has not been decided.
Simoneau added that initial committee meetings may be private, but he expects they would eventually be held publicly. He said the panel would meet in private only to meet each other and familiarize themselves with the tenure situation.
The panel will have some degree of autonomy. “I don’t think the governor will give them specific direction,” Simoneau said.
— Brian Bakst