(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – The UCM board of governors currently has three board members sitting in expired terms.
Monica Huffman, the assistant secretary to the board, said the members – Walt Hicklin, Weldon Brady and Gus Wetzel II – continue to serve until a replacement is appointed.
“For us, we have board members that are willing, fortunately, to continue to serve,” Huffman said. “Some of their terms expired under Governor Nixon’s time and he had not made any appointments to replace some of them.”
The board of governors consists of eight total members, according to the board’s bylaws. The terms for the governors is six years. The student governor position lasts for two years.
Hicklin’s term expired Jan. 1, 2013, but he voluntarily serves.
“The university has done so much for me that I feel like I owe something to it,” Hicklin said. “I want to give back. I take pride in this place.”
The board members are appointed through the Missouri governor’s office.
Wetzel’s term expired Jan. 1, 2017 and Brady’s term expired Jan. 1, 2012.
Wetzel, the board president, said the board makes decisions on anything from student concerns to personnel at the university.
For example, the board recently appointed Roger Best to serve as the executive vice president and chief operating officer. The board also appointed Mike Godard as the interim provost-chief learning officer, replacing Deborah Curtis who was recently named president of Indiana State University.
Huffman has served as assistant secretary to the board as well as executive assistant to the president for the past 18 years.
“I’m appointed custodian of records by the board, so when we get requests for the Missouri Sunshine Law, those come to me, and then I work to ensure that we’re responding according to the law,” she said. “If it is information that we should be releasing as public information, I work with staff members to obtain that information and get it to the person who requested it.”
She has seen many different board members while serving for the university.
“The job provides the opportunity to work with different people,” Huffman said. “They have a genuine interest for the university.”
Huffman said her job is important and she enjoys the work she does with the board members.
“I just like being able to help the board,” she said. “They have a very important job, so I like being able to help them and get them what they need in order to make informed decisions when things come before them.”
Wetzel said he enjoys being on the board because he realizes the value of UCM. He said the other board members show they care about the university at each meeting.
“The board of governors has the heart of UCM in mind,” he said. “It’s a hard-working group that has the interest of UCM in mind.”