Adopted Date: 09-12-1996
Amended: 09-09-2003
Amended: 08-10-2004
Amended: 12-14-2004
Amended: 03-14-2005
Amended: 12-14-2010
Appointment of Members
The Board of Regents is composed of seven members who are appointed by the Governor of New Mexico, with the consent of the Senate, for staggered terms of six years except for the student regent who is appointed for a two-year term. The Governor and the Secretary of Education are designated as ex-officio, non-voting members, and the Presidents of the Faculty Senate, Staff Council, Associated Students of UNM, Graduate and Professional Student Association, Alumni Association, UNM Retiree Association, UNM Parent Association and the Chair of the UNM Foundation are non-voting advisors.
Removal of Members
Members of the Board of Regents shall not be removed except for incompetence, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. A member may not be removed without notice of hearing and an opportunity to be heard. The New Mexico Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over proceedings to remove a member of the Board of Regents in accordance with such rules as the Court may promulgate, and its decision in such matters is final.
Officers
The Board of Regents is required by statute to meet in Albuquerque on the second Monday in March of each year to elect a president, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer. The President presides at all meetings of the Board. When the President of the Board of Regents is absent, the Board of Regents hereby appoints the Vice-President to serve as President pro tem.
Compensation
Members of the Board are not remunerated for their services. They are, however, eligible for travel reimbursement, pursuant to the University's travel reimbursement policies. (See, RPM 7.7 and UBPPM Policy 4030.)
Conflict of Interest
Members of the Board are subject to the "Regent Code of Conduct and Conflicts of Interest Policy." (See, RPM 1.8.)
Orientation of New Members
When a new member is appointed to the Board, the member will receive copies of the Faculty Handbook, the Regents' Policy Manual, and a compilation of current New Mexico statutes pertaining to the Regents. The President will arrange briefing sessions for newly appointed Regents.
Standing Committees and Appointment to Board of Directors
In order to facilitate the work of the Board of Regents, the President of the Board of Regents appoints members to standing committees each year and appoints chairs and vice-chairs of each committee. As provided for in RPM 3.5, the President of the Board of Regents appoints members to the HSC Board of Directors. The President of the Board of Regents shall consult with the Board of Regents concerning such appointments to committees and boards. Consistent with the requirements of the University Research Park and Economic Development Act (“URPEDA”), the President of the Board of Regents nominates members to serve on the various Boards of Directors of URPEDA corporations in which the University is a member following the approved bylaws of each such URPEDA corporation and such nominees will be appointed to each such Board upon the vote of a majority of the Regents.
The standing committees of the Board of Regents are Audit; Finance and Facilities; Academic, Student Affairs and Research; and Advancement. The President of the Board of Regents may name other standing committees with the consent of the Board of Regents.
Each standing committee shall consist of three Regent members, and such community and University members as the President of the Board of Regents deems appropriate. A quorum of a Regents' committee consists of a majority of the appointed members of that committee, regardless of whether those in attendance are Regent members or community members. The President of the Board of Regents shall serve as a nonvoting alternate, and may serve as a voting member whenever any of the Regent members are not present.
Each committee shall have a designated vice president responsible for assisting the chair of the committee. The chair of each committee shall be responsible for preparing the agenda for the committee meetings, in consultation with the vice president, the President of the University and the President of the Board of Regents. The President of the University may submit agenda items for the committee to the President of the Board of Regents and the chair of the committee. All action items for the Board of Regents must be first reviewed by a standing committee or by the UNM Health Sciences Center Board of Directors, as the case may be, unless this requirement is waived by the President of the Board of Regents.
The duties and responsibilities of the UNM Health Sciences Center Board of Directors are set forth in RPM 3.5. The duties and responsibilities of the Audit Committee are set forth in RPM 7.3. The other standing committees, duties and functions are determined by the Board of Regents, and shall include at least gathering information, conferring with members of the administration, faculty, staff, student body, and public on the topics within the committee's duties, and making recommendations for action by the Board of Regents. The chairs of the standing committees (or vice-chairs in the absence of the chairs) shall report the committee recommendations to the Board of Regents at its meetings. Standing committees do not constitute a quorum of the Board of Regents and have no authority to act for the Board of Regents.
The UNM Health Sciences Center Board of Directors and all standing committees will abide by the New Mexico Open Meetings Act.
Consent Agenda Matters
Certain matters, or categories of matters, may be referred by the Board of Regents for discussion and recommendation by a standing committee (and, as appropriate, the UNM Health Sciences Board of Directors) and thereafter placed on the Board of Regents' consent agenda for approval by the Board of Regents without further discussion. All matters, or categories of matters, within the subject matters regularly assigned to a standing committee (or, the UNM Health Sciences Center Board of Directors, as the case may be) shall be deemed to have been referred by the Board to that standing committee. Any member of the Board of Regents shall have the right, upon request, to remove any item from the Board's consent agenda and place the item on the Board's regular agenda for discussion.
Operations Committee
In addition to the standing committees, there shall be an Operations Committee which shall consist of the President of the Board of Regents as chair, together with two other Regent members appointed by the President of the Board. The Operations Committee will meet informally, including by telephone conference, to discuss the agenda for upcoming Board of Regents meetings and other items of business likely to come before the Board of Regents. The meetings of the Operations Committee will not be subject to requirements of the Open Meetings Act.
Ad Hoc Committees
From time to time the President of Board may appoint ad hoc committees consisting of two or three Regent members to gather information and make recommendations to the Board of Regents about specified matters. Public notice of such meetings will be given and public attendance and participation permitted as deemed appropriate by the committee chair.
Quorum for Meetings of the Board
Four of the seven members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
Agenda for Meetings
The President of the University is responsible for preparation of the written agenda for Board of Regents meetings; the President consults with the President of the Board of Regents about each agenda. Copies of the agenda are distributed to the Regents, the President of the University, other administrators, representatives of the news media, and other interested parties. To the extent practical, agenda items will contain references to the applicable Board of Regents' policies.
Additions to the agenda may not be made less than 24 hours prior to the meeting, except in case of emergency as defined in the Open Meetings Act. The Board of Regents will consider such emergency changes to the agenda at the beginning of each meeting, but once the Board of Regents formally approves the agenda, it will be followed.
Persons or groups wishing to place an item on the agenda of the Board of Regents, whether for possible Board of Regents action or for purposes of addressing the Board of Regents about an item, must submit a letter to that effect to the President of the Board of Regents via the President of the University not less than two working days prior to the scheduled meeting. Items are typically considered by the appropriate Board of Regents' committee before going to the full Board of Regents. Final decisions to place items on the agenda or to refer items to committee will be rendered by the President of the Board of Regents after consultation with the President of the University.
Conduct of Meetings
Parliamentary procedure shall be governed by the most current revision of Roberts' Rules of Order, except that New Mexico law or other applicable Regents' policies will govern if there is a conflict with Roberts' Rules of Order.
References
Structure: New Mexico Constitution, art. XII, § 13; §§ 21-1-13, 21-7-5, 21-7-6, NMSA 1978.
