Connecticut's Board of Regents concept questioned

Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton, the leading House Republican on the General Assembly's Education Committee, said Monday that lawmakers should be reassessing the board's role overseeing four state universities, 12 community colleges and the online Charter Oak State College under the recently merged Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system rather than just finding a replacement for Gregory Gray.

Lavielle, who contends the mission of CSCU is unclear, suggested the legislature conduct a full-scale review of the board to determine what is or is not working, what changes need to be made and whether it should continue to exist.

Since the decision to consolidate the governance of the 17 state-run schools under one board, there have been a series of missteps.

While she originally opposed merging the governance of the different systems — an idea pushed by Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy as a way to cut costs and make affordable higher education more accessible — she said she believes the Board of Regents now needs to find the right person to fill the presidency job and get the system "back on track."