May 03, 2009 02:34 AM UTC

Republicans Suddenly Oppose Higher Ed Transparency

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• by: Colorado Pols

That’s odd, isn’t it? Isn’t “transparency” their big deal? Depends, as the Denver Post reports:

A legislative proposal calls for state colleges and universities to open up their hiring processes, despite protests the scrutiny will discourage executives from applying for president and chancellor positions.

Republicans hammered House Bill 1369, which received initial approval Friday in the Democratic-controlled House.

House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, said his concern is that selection committees now meet privately, review candidates and then announce a sole finalist.

The public has little input in that process, he said.

“It’s been done behind closed doors. When the finalist comes forward, it’s an up and down vote on that person,” he said.

His bill would require the search committee to interview at least three candidates and send no more than five names to the governing board. The board would pick the finalists, make their names public, and then the finalists would have to make public presentations before any vote is taken…

Several Republicans blistered the bill. Rep. Ken Summers, R-Lakewood, said legislators were trying to micromanage the colleges. [Pols emphasis]

You see, dear reader, it’s all about “tranparency,” a well-worn GOP rallying buzzword used repeatedly this session to justify all kinds of bills, but only when it’s not going to interfere with a crony-engineered and executed closed door selection process–of the kind that has turned an unbroken string of Republican politicos into presidents of Colorado public universities.

In that case, (don’t blink or you’ll miss it), “transparency” becomes “micromanagement.”