Bolton named student regent

It appears that Alex Bolton's decision to give up an invitation to attend a Harvard graduate school has paid off -- save an affirmation by the Legislature, an announcement by the governor's office and some paperwork -- Bolton is the next student regent.

Gov. Gary Locke's office confirmed yesterday that Bolton, a graduate student in the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, has been selected as the student regent to succeed Darlene Marie "Daya" Escarez Mortel. The decision came about a week before the July regents meeting, a meeting Mortel was slated to not be physically present for because she is abroad in the Philippines.

The news is good for Bolton, who once lost a race for ASUW president. When he was accepted at the John F. Kennedy School of Public Affairs at Harvard, he declined the offer partially with the student regentship in mind, though he also wanted to stay in Seattle and stay out of the $100,000 debt which would have resulted from attending the university, he said.

The appointment means Bolton will probably have to step down from his seat in the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS), though he hopes to remain active through a non-voting seat he plans to create for the student regent in both the GPSS and ASUW.

The appointment marks the end of a two-month question as to who would replace Mortel. Though Mortel's term was slated to stop at the end of May, she has been holding the spot while Locke's office decided between the three candidates selected by a student-government committee.

Cammie Croft and Nathan Kohler were also nominated but were not selected for the position.

Bolton, who has been knee-deep in student-government bureaucracy since 1998, said he was a a little on-edge toward the end of June. Though he hadn't heard anything from the governor's office, he suspected the appointment would be expedited by Mortel's planned departure.

He was told of the Locke's decision July 6.

Even though an announcement has not yet been made -- Locke's office said it will come in a few days -- Bolton has already been meeting with UW officials, and he participated in the July regents' meeting.

He is also thinking about some of the issues he wants to address during his one-year term, which he expects to be "a great experience."

"The big thing I'd like to work on is tuition," he said.

Bolton supports a plan backed by many of the regents. The plan would tie the Legislature's decision on undergraduate tuition more closely with funding for the entire University. He wants to "make it a policy that makes some sense," he said.

Bolton wants legislators to see how lower funding means higher tuition to fill the gaps. Currently, the Legislature makes decisions about undergraduate tuition and operational funding for higher education separately.

Bolton hopes this shift in thinking will lead to more funding for higher education as well as lowered tuition. His goal is to help put the UW in the top quarter of public universities for public funding.

Bolton also plans to spearhead an effort to change the "210-credit rule," which attempts to motivate senior students toward graduation through registration holds. He would like to see some exceptions for students who are particularly academically motivated. He admits to being such a student, having graduated with between 230 and 237 credits.

He aims to be a regent who listens and voices students' concerns but doesn't follow the ebb and flow of student government, takes the pulse of the student body but votes from his own heart and is willing to be the lone vote on what would otherwise be a unanimous decision.

"I will be out there and be visible and be in touch. ... [I'll] do my part to be available to students," he said. "[But] you've got to trust the person who's the student regent to make the best decisions for the University."