Since May 2016, six new members have been added to California Lutheran University’s Board of Regents, including two students and one faculty.

The Board of Regents is comprised of 25 selected and approved individuals, as well as two students and one faculty member, said President Chris Kimball, who also serves on the board.

Kimball said the Regents are similar to a board of directors who ensure the university is moving in the right direction and oversee the administration, among other roles.

The new “ex officio” members who serve by virtue of holding a different office are student body president Daniel Lacey, Graduate and Professional Student Council Chair Cristy McNay and faculty chair Veronica Guerrero, a professor in Cal Lutheran’s School of Management.

The three other new Regents were selected by a committee and instated in October at the Founders Day Convocation, Kimball said. They include Mike Soules, CEO of Corwin Press, Ann Boynton, an executive at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and Debra Papageorge, managing and regional director of trust and estate services for the central coast at Union Bank.

Lacey said he and McNay began serving as Regents in May, and that he is on the board to “speak up for the students,” while McNay represents those in the graduate and professionals program.

“Some of her biggest pushes in terms of the graduate program is to establish student fees,” Lacey said.

He said this will allow more programming for graduate students.

Guerrero was elected faculty chair in August to replace Tim Hengst, a multimedia professor, whose two-year term ended this year, Lacey said.

“She represents the faculty’s interest very, very well,” Lacey said.

He also said he has enjoyed the transition from being one of Guerrero’s students to serving as a Regent with her.

Lacey said the board is meant to have a balance between people who are connected with Cal Lutheran and connected with the community, and the new additions of Soules, Boynton and Papageorge are a good mix of both.

Kimball said Soules is highly active in the community, namely as president of the Conejo Schools Foundation. He also said Soules has worked with Cal Lutheran’s Graduate School of Education.

“I think he’s going to bring a great mindset to the Regents moving forward in terms of how we want to create more of a diverse faculty, how we want to keep our academics at its peak in everything we do,” Lacey said.

Boynton, a second Regent confirmed in October, said in an email interview she is an alum of California Lutheran College, class of ‘83, who has worked as a management consultant and as a senior member of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration.

She now works in hospital and health care administration, and will bring a good perspective as Cal Lutheran grows in the science fields, Lacey said.

“I want the university to be a vibrant place of learning where students feel challenged and welcomed, where faculty and staff are committed to the university and each other…And I want it to continue to provide students with life-changing experiences. The board is a great way for me to help achieve that vision,” Boynton said.

The third selected Regent, Papageorge, is involved in the banking business and received a masters in theology from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary recently, where she is also on the advisory board, Kimball said.

Lacey said Papageorge is a good balance between being an insider and outsider of Cal Lutheran, and brings economic insight alongside a theological perspective that will contribute to the university’s identity.

In an email interview, Papageorge said she has a son who received a business administration degree from Cal Lutheran. She also said she has seen the school’s many contributions to the community and “watched the campus grow from a very small liberal arts college to the wonderful university we have now.”

When selecting new Regents, the demographics of the board are always considered, Kimball said. He said the board must be at least 50 percent Lutheran, while diversity, gender, race, age and ethnicity are also taken into account.

Kimball also said they look for people who are advocates for Cal Lutheran, demonstrate leadership skills and are willing to contribute financially.

“They’re volunteers who care so much about the university. They give their time and their money to see the university get better…they always come away impressed with what the students here are doing,” Kimball said.

Aside from two-year terms for the faculty chair and one-year terms for the elected students, Regents have three-year terms that can be renewed twice, serving a possible total of nine years.

Kimball said the Board of Regents generally meets four times a year: in August for a retreat, October during homecoming weekend, February and in May at commencement.

Dakota Allen
Staff Writer