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little upset with my more politically sensitive colleagues, I say to them, “You know, if we're going to be sensitive to the Governor's or the legislators' wishes, we don't need the Regents. We could save the taxpayers money by having the legislatures have committees, sub-committees on education directly responsible to them, and the Governor could appoint the Commissioner of Education, who would be directly responsible to him. Well, that's not the case according to the Constitution. The Commissioner of Education is not directly responsible to the Governor. He's not appointed by the Governor. He is appointed by the Regents and serves at the pleasure of the Regents

Well, most Governors don't like that. But what I saw with the early stages-- and this might be just nostalgia-- was that the Regents at I went into seemed more independent, more-- had more of a sense that they had this special responsibility to education than the politicians were required to have.

Now, on the other hand, the Legislature and the Governor control the purse strings. Well, they do, you know. The Regents cannot levy taxes. They have to go to the Legislature and the Budget Committees and the Governor and what not for their funds. They set up a budget that could be modified.

Anyway-- why did you think that was so interesting? The Constitution is clear, you know. The Regents are practically almost a fourth division of state government, for specifically education and professions.

Well, since the media is commonly known as the Fourth Estate, shall