Gov. Laura Kelly’s nominee to the Kansas Board of Regents sailed through a confirmation hearing on Monday after hitting a snag last summer during an interim hearing.
The Senate Education Committee sent Peter Johnston’s nomination to the full Senate after he ran into tough questioning last summer from President Ty Masterson about “pretty disparaging remarks” the nominee made about another state university.
The committee didn’t address any those concerns, instead asking him about what he thought the Regents could do about illiteracy, what changes need to be made at state universities, his priorities for efficiency in higher education and how we would advocate for university graduates to work in rural Kansas.
“I want to serve on the Kansas Board of Regents because the public schools in the state have given me virtually everything that I treasure in my life,” Johnston said.
“This is an opportunity to give back and that is very meaningful to me,” he said.
“I also want to serve because I know the Regent institutions help us drive prosperity in this state for Kansas families, for Kansas businesses and I want to be a part of that.”
Asked about what he would change at the state’s universities, Johnston cited cybersecurity as a concern.
“Cybersecurity worries me,” Johnston said. “I don’t know about our systems at these institutions. I worry about our system’s age. I worry about the security.
“I’m not casting aspersions, it’s not a fault thing,” he said. “It’s just that when you have old institutions and old infrastructure, sometimes that includes the cyber infrastructure.
“I worry a great deal about IT,” he said.
When asked about efficiencies in higher education, Johnston emphasized “collaboration.”
“I think competition’s good, duplication is not as good, collaboration is great,” he said.
“I would like to see more of that.”
Last year, Masterson questioned Johnston – who has strong ties to the University of Kansas – about whether he could treat all of the universities evenly given the many millions of dollars that flow through the Board of Regents.
“There’s no constituency that I serve in this role. I’m not the KU appointee,” Johnston said at that time. “I serve the system, and I have no problem with that.”
“If I come to this role with any kind of agenda – and I don’t – if you had to say what is it, I would say it’s nursing workforce,” he said.
“I have zero concern about my ability to be fair and be an advocate for the whole system,” he said.
Johnston is an attorney with the Salina firm of Clark, Mize & Linville.
He formerly served on the University of Kansas Law School’s Board of Governors and the KU Alumni Association’s Board of Directors.
He serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Kansas Endowment Association.
Masterson said he learned in private conversations that Johnston said “very negative things about Wichita State” as well as the graduates of the school.
Masterson said the comments were ”very troubling.”
“I want to understand more of what he’s thinking,” Masterson said.
None of those issues surfaced during Monday’s confirmation hearing.
Johnston’s nomination was referred to the Senate Education Committee, something that has occurred in the past with other nominees such as former Regent Jon Rolph who faced questions about diversity, equity and inclusion.
“I’m not saying, ‘no,’” Masterson said.
“I want a little more time,” he said. “We have precedent for this.”
It’s not the first time that the governor’s nominee got sent back to committee.
In 2022, Masterson sent the Regent nominations of former BNSF Railway executive Carl Ice, former Kansas City Kansas Schools Superintendent Cynthia Lane and Lawrence attorney Wint Winter Jr. to the Education Committee for more vetting.
The nominations had already cleared the Senate Confirmation Oversight Committee, but senators had more questions about the nominees.
More recently, former Regent Jon Rolph’s nomination was sent back to committee when he faced questions about diversity, equity and inclusion.
