The August MyEdu decision by the Board of Regents involves much more than making an investment decision that bypassed the vetting expertise of the regents’ own investment advisers. The real policy fiasco is the designation of MyEdu as a “UT System official” for purposes of access to student records. This takes the “corporation as a person” notion far beyond the recent “Citizens United” Supreme Court decision (supporting unlimited corporate donations in political campaigns).

The next Board of Regents meeting is today at 8 a.m. in the Board Room of Ashbel Smith Hall at 201 West Seventh St. An investment report is scheduled for the finance and planning committee at 3:35 p.m. Any board that displays such a fundamental disregard for its fiduciary responsibility (for example, seemingly neglecting to exercise appropriate financial stewardship as exemplified by the MyEdu decision) should either reverse such a decision — even if it entails breach of contract consequences ­— or resign.

Michael Bisesi
UT alumnus
Professor, Seattle University