There has always been an uneasy relationship between the Legislature and the Board of Regents. The Regents have preferred less involvement in higher ed policy by lawmakers, who control the purse strings and thus feel entitled to intervene at times.
That is being demonstrated in stark relief by Cobb legislator Earl Ehrhart’s campaign to oust Georgia Tech President Bud Peterson.
Angered by Tech’s treatment of students charged with sexual misconduct, Ehrhart has held hearings on the issue and threatened to reduce the school’s funding. Now, Ehrhart says the Regents should not renew Peterson’s contract when it comes up next month.
But has Ehrhart gone too far? On the AJC Get Schooled blog on MyAJC.com, you can read what some Tech supporters have to say, including, “Tech will not be able to recruit the kind of faculty talent that it has in recent years, or retain the talent it already has, if this nonsense continues. This will lead to it no longer being a premier public university and an engine of economic development in the state. Is this what the Representative from Powder Springs wants? Really?”
To read other comments, go to to the Get Schooled blog.
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