Killian to new boss: I won’t stop criticizing you

Arizona Board of Regents Chairman Mark Killian’s new job might put him in a tough spot vis-à-vis his new boss.

Gov. Doug Ducey named Killian as the new director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture, a position he had sought for more than a year. Killian said he hopes to continue his service on the Board of Regents while he serves simultaneously as an agency head.

But Killian has been an outspoken critic of the fiscal year 2016 budget that Ducey signed, which cuts $99 million in funding to Arizona’s universities. Shortly after the budget passed, Killian even suggested that the Board of Regents might sue over the higher education cuts.

Despite his new position as an agency head, an at-will position that comes with a $132,000 salary, Killian said he won’t bite his tongue when it comes to higher education issues.

“I’ve always been very outspoken. I’ll tell you what I think,” Killian said.

Killian said the governor didn’t appoint him as a director in order to neutralize opposition from the Board of Regents, and that Ducey did not request that he tone down his criticism of the budget or other higher education issues.

“I don’t mean anything personal by what I do. It’s just policy issues. So I’m not worried about that at all. And apparently the Governor’s Office wasn’t worried about it or they wouldn’t appoint me,” Killian said.

Former regent Ernest Calderon praised Ducey’s choice of Killian, and said the regents chairman won’t back down on education issues just because the governor is now his boss at the Department of Agriculture. He suggested that Killian may even use his new position as a way to lobby Ducey on higher education.

“I think he’ll continue to be outspoken. You can’t buy Mark Killian,” Calderon said.

Killian’s appointment comes barely a month after he publicly floated the possibility of suing the state under a provision of the Arizona Constitution that says university education should be “as nearly free as possible.” He said he is waiting for feedback from the board’s legal counsel and still hasn’t ruled out a lawsuit, though he said he’d prefer to settle university funding issues at the Legislature or through a ballot initiative.

In a speech to the Board of Regents on April 9, the day before he appointed Killian, Ducey would not rule out future cuts in higher education or pledge his support for restoring the $99 million that was cut in the FY16 budget. Ducey urged the regents to create a “sustainable long-term business plan” that address the needs of students and the business community, but said they can’t rely solely on state funding.

After the meeting, Killian groused about the Legislature’s “animosity” toward the university system.

Many in the higher education world predicted that Ducey and the Legislature’s cuts could lead to higher tuition. The University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University have already proposed tuition increases following the cuts, while Arizona State University is asking for a $320-per-student fee to offset the lost revenue.

Killian said the Board of Regents may have no choice but to accede.

“I’m not the least bit interested in raising tuition. I think we’ve raised tuition too much in our state,” he said. “But at the same time, when the Legislature cuts us the way they do, they may have tied our hands.”

For now, Killian said he hasn’t decided yet whether he’ll finish out the last three years of his eight-year term on the Board of Regents while serving as the state’s agriculture director, though he’d like to continue serving on the board.

“What I’m going to do is once I get started over there and I evaluate what’s going on in the department … then I’ll make a decision as to what I will do in the future with the regents,” he said. “I’d love to stay there. I enjoy working with the Board of Regents and enjoy working with the universities.”

Killian, a former House speaker, noted that he was able to continue serving on other boards and commissions during his tenure as Department of Revenue director.