After serving less than one year on the state Board of Regents, Nolan Karras was elected chairman of higher education’s top governing board.
During Friday’s meeting at Weber State University, Regents chose Karras to replace Charlie Johnson, who was previously Gov. Mike Leavitt’s campaign manager.
Karras, 57, formerly served as Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives and currently presides as president of the financial advisory business Karras Company Inc.
U lobbyist Nancy Lyon, who was a state representative with Karras, said he is known for being fiscally responsible and always looking for long-term answers to problems.
“I have tremendous respect for him and I know legislators will look at him as someone they can respect. He is a straight shooter and is fair to everyone,” Lyon said.
Most importantly, he will be well respected by the Legislature he used to lead, Lyon said.
Commissioner of Higher Education Cecelia Foxley said, “The board has once again selected strong and capable leadership to build upon past progress as higher education moves forward.”
One of the first problems Karras will face is a budget cut which lawmakers will impose to compensate for the tax revenue shortfall during a special session to be held in June or July.
After dealing with this year’s budget problem, Karras plans on creating a long-range budget plan to guide higher education with vision.
Regents also unanimously voted Pamela Atkinson to continue to serve as board vice chairwoman.