Lawmakers debate board memberships
The bills could affect President David Chicoine's position with Monsanto.
Amy Poppinga
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: News
President David Chicoine's position on the Monsanto Board of Directors has come under scrutiny once again, this time in the South Dakota Legislature.
Senator Frank Kloucek, a 1978 graduate of SDSU, has proposed three bills to look at the issue of top university officials serving on corporate boards. The Scotland Democrat said he does not believe university presidents should serve on corporate boards because when a president has such close associations with a corporation, the university's research could look biased toward that company, he said.
"I don't want to see the image of SDSU tainted in any way, shape or form," he said.
Kloucek's three bills, SB 111, 112 and 113, range from a complete ban on presidents serving on boards to allowing state employees to serve on boards only if they do not receive compensation to requiring the Board of Regents to create a policy that governs regental employees accepting outside employment. The bills were scheduled to get a hearing on Feb. 3 in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
"(The three bills) will give the Legislature a smorgasbord of opportunities to do the right thing," he said.
While it is not uncommon for university presidents across the country to serve on boards, Chicoine's situation brought the issue to the forefront in South Dakota, Kloucek said. The Scotland senator said he does not have anything personally against Chicoine, and his bills could affect every university president in the state.
"South Dakota certainly needs to hold its university presidents to a higher standard," Kloucek said.
Chicoine, who was appointed to the 11-person Monsanto board as an independent member on April 15, helps review and approve the company's budgets, long-range plans and corporate policies related to social responsibility. He also helps hire, fire and evaluate Monsanto's management and is expected to have no material relationship with the company. Through these administrative experiences, Chicoine has said that his board position could help him do his job as SDSU president better.
Senator Frank Kloucek, a 1978 graduate of SDSU, has proposed three bills to look at the issue of top university officials serving on corporate boards. The Scotland Democrat said he does not believe university presidents should serve on corporate boards because when a president has such close associations with a corporation, the university's research could look biased toward that company, he said.
"I don't want to see the image of SDSU tainted in any way, shape or form," he said.
Kloucek's three bills, SB 111, 112 and 113, range from a complete ban on presidents serving on boards to allowing state employees to serve on boards only if they do not receive compensation to requiring the Board of Regents to create a policy that governs regental employees accepting outside employment. The bills were scheduled to get a hearing on Feb. 3 in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
"(The three bills) will give the Legislature a smorgasbord of opportunities to do the right thing," he said.
While it is not uncommon for university presidents across the country to serve on boards, Chicoine's situation brought the issue to the forefront in South Dakota, Kloucek said. The Scotland senator said he does not have anything personally against Chicoine, and his bills could affect every university president in the state.
"South Dakota certainly needs to hold its university presidents to a higher standard," Kloucek said.
Chicoine, who was appointed to the 11-person Monsanto board as an independent member on April 15, helps review and approve the company's budgets, long-range plans and corporate policies related to social responsibility. He also helps hire, fire and evaluate Monsanto's management and is expected to have no material relationship with the company. Through these administrative experiences, Chicoine has said that his board position could help him do his job as SDSU president better.
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John
posted 2/04/10 @ 10:27 AM CST
One cannot serve two masters. One is greater. One will either be a public servant or a public parasite - there is no middle ground. Too much public stewardship is at stake to take a chance. (Continued…)
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