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Believinq in Presidents. In practice, most boards rely on the advice of the university president. "If you have a president you believe in, you go along with him," says University of Illinois Trustee Harold Pogue. State University of New York Trustee Morris Iushewitz, acknowledging the strong hand of S.U.N.Y. President Samuel Gould, insists that "We are not manipulated except for the good of the university, and in that sense I don't mind being manipulated." Alabama's self-perpetuating board is an example of how trustees can protect a school and a strong president, Frank Rose (TIME, Apnl 21), against the pressuring tactics of hostile Governors such as Lurleen and George Wallace. Notes one Alabama professor: "Wallace just couldn't influence that board on political matters if he tried."
Despite the complexities of the job, most regents find the work stimulating, devote roughly a month's time to the task each year. "It's like being a den mother for 30,000 students," claims University of Michigan Regent Mrs. Gertrude Huebner, who delights in the varied advice she is asked to give. One mother wrote to ask whether her coed daughter should sing in a nightclub. "I want to investigate to see whether there's enough smoke in the air to damage her throat before answering," says Mrs. Huebner.
Aloof on Olympus. If regents are to perform their buffer role effectively, they clearly need to know student and faculty leaders. Not all of them do. "Nobody really has any contact with the board of governors—it's like speaking to the gods on Olympus," complains Bart Mindszenthy, a campus newspaper editor at Wayne State University. Yet California regents are trying hard: they meet monthly with student leaders, sometimes hike with them in the High Sierras. Governors of Central Michigan University stay in student dorms when they meet.
Few public servants are more convinced of the worth of what they do than are university regents. California Regent William Forbes, president of a music firm, concedes that his service as a regent, which takes about 30% of his time, is the biggest thing in his life because "the hope of mankind lies in educating as many people as best we can."