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Former Republican governor Arne Carlson has been on a tear recently.

, which took aim at the U's Board of Regents.

[audio href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/www_publicradio/tools/media_player/popup.php?name=minnesota/news/programs/daily_circuit_1/2013/04/08/daily_circuit_130408_arnecarlson_20130408_64" title="Arne Carlson on UMN administrative pay"]His chat with Kerri Miller[/audio]He t

 about it, essentially saying that lawmakers need to choose regents who are more vigilant about cutting college costs.

Membership, he said, should be based on demonstrated skill, as well as candidates' recognition that their job is to provide meaningful oversight of the U.

Carlson wrote in the Strib that the governor should help gather state leaders to "develop a new approach for creating a competent and visionary Board of Regents, chosen on the basis of competence and not politics."

He also told Miller the U needs to rethink how much it pays its top administrators, noting that many university officials make more than top state and federal leaders.

He mentioned former athletic director Joel Maturi, how now works as a U fund-raiser. He writes that Maturi makes $468,000, compared to the president of the United States, who earns $400,000.

Carlson says the U should not use administrative salaries at other universities as a benchmark for its own. He says costs within the whole higher education sector are spiraling out of control.

Note: He also wrote in his blog about the position of Mark Rotenberg, 

who's leaving the U for Johns Hopkins University:

Here's a recap of the interview on MPR's Daily Circuit blog.

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On Campus Blog

Alex Friedrich

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Former Republican governor Arne Carlson has been on a tear recently. First he wrote this blog post about administrative pay at the University of Minnesota. Then he wrote a related opinion piece for the Star Tribune, which took aim at the U’s Board of Regents. He talked to MPR’s Kerri Miller on The Daily Circuit…

Why Arne Carlson says the University of Minnesota needs better regents

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