KBOR Report January 2022
Kansas Board of Regents Report, January 2022
The board of regents met virtually on Wednesday, January 19. There was no significant business related directly to ESU, except for the last agenda item, the appointment of the chair of the presidential search committee. The regents announced that Greg Kossover, a 1985 graduate of ESU and Board of Trustee member—best known for the new Kossover Family tennis center—would be the chair of the committee conducting a search for the next ESU president. The committee will most likely be named next month.
Greg played tennis right next to interim president Ken Hush and both alums were instrumental in raising the funds for the tennis center. Greg is a banker in Wichita and a CPA whose son will be attending ESU as a freshman on the tennis team next fall. It is always an exciting prospect to begin a search for the next president and we await the announcement of the search committee.
On January 20, the Council of Government Relations (COGRO), which includes presidents of the universities and government relations officers, met for a virtual breakfast (the smell of bacon and fresh brewed coffee has not yet been mastered by zoom), to discuss the legislative session and some of the goals going forward. Many reported, including myself, that discussions with legislators on the Governor’s budget request for higher education have been positive so far. But it is early and we agreed to meet after turnaround in in late February to see where we are then.
An interesting discussion followed on the heels of that regarding the focus of the regents on higher education as a tool for economic development in the state. At the Wednesday meeting, KU, KSU and WSU presented on how they contribute to economic development and how they attract industry to develop their strengths in medicine, agriculture, and aerospace, respectively. Regent Wint Winter proposed the regional universities also contribute on rural development and growth initiatives which we will certainly continue to focus on. Partly, this is driven by a request of $195 million to the Kansas Department of Commerce to provide matching funds to higher ed institutions for business development. The COGRO will soon be having discussions with Commerce officials about the funds even while there is some dispute about whether that measure will survive budget discussions going forward this session. I will keep you posted.
Greg Schneider
Government Relations Officer