Regent resigns in wake of vote on counsel

Dr. Douglas Wyckoff, a Cameron dentist appointed as a Democrat to the Northwest Missouri State University Board of Regents in 2008, has resigned.

Wyckoff's term on the board expired Jan 1, but he had earlier agreed to keep serving until Gov. Jay Nixon could appoint a successor.

On Friday, Wyckoff emailed a letter of resignation, labeled a "public notice," to area news media. He stated that the same letter had been sent to the state Office of Boards and Commissions and the Board of Regents.

While attending a regent's meeting Thursday morning, Wyckoff became visibly upset during a lengthy debate leading up to a 4-1 vote in favor of hiring of the Kansas City law firm of Husch Blackwell to serve as university counsel.

Wyckoff strenuously objected to hiring Husch Blackwell, charging conflict of interest and saying that former university counselor Joe Cornelison, who was fired by the board in 2009, is on the firm's payroll, as is board chairman Mark Hargens' son.

Cornelison later filed suit against several board members, including Wyckoff.

Two votes were taken on whether to engage Husch as counsel. The first failed 3-2 when Regent John Richmond voted with Wyckoff. However, Richmond changed his vote after being urged to do so by regents Patrick Harr and Gene Dorrel, who were joined in the "yes" column by Regent Joe Bosse.

Hargens had excused himself and was not in the J.W. Jones Student Union Boardroom during either the discussion or the vote.

"I'm sorry, but it's something I'm not going to let go of," Wyckoff said of the lawsuit during the discussion about hiring new counsel. He added that hiring Husch Blackwell would be a "slap in the face to this university."

Husch Blackwell partner Allan V. Hallquest offered assurances to the regents that Cornelison, who does work for the firm on a contract basis, would sign a document pledging to refrain from involvement in legal issues related to Northwest.

During a brief recess following the second vote, Wyckoff left the meeting and did not return.

On Friday, Hargens told the Daily Forum that "Dr. Wyckoff has done a good job on the board."

The retired public school administrator said he sympathized with Wyckoff's frustration as an emerging majority of regents began "moving in a direction he didn't agree with." Hargens added that he himself faced a similar situation after being appointed to the panel in 2010.

"It can be hard to be on boards where there are multiple viewpoints," Hargens said. "But Dr. Wyckoff has always spoken up and given his point of view, and that's all you can ask in the end."

In his resignation letter, Wyckoff said the "climate" on the board had changed, and that "decisions that have been made in the past are cropping up in our agendas with the intent of reversing them."

He said the regents' most important responsibility was to govern Northwest, adding that "in no way should this board ever pass its responsibility on to the president of the university."

Wyckoff also offered a list of "very difficult questions" he said the board should "step up" and address. The questions involved such matters as the resignation of senior staff during the tenure of Northwest President John Jasinski, the university's fiscal reserves, across-the-board pay raises for faculty and staff, falling enrollment, the decision to allow alcoholic beverages on campus for special events, and the lack of female and minority regents.

"I have reached a point on this board that relationships have become antagonistic," Wyckoff wrote. "This can wear on a person’s health, family and the decisions they make while serving.  

"When the environment reaches a point that a person dreads going to a meeting, it is time to step away. I must distance myself from the future direction that this board appears to be taking. I guess the final straw for me was when the majority of the board decided to hire a law firm that had multiple 'conflicts of interest' in serving NWMSU."