Gov. Doug Ducey appoints Fred DuVal, his 2014 Democratic rival, to Board of Regents

Rachel Leingang | The Republic | azcentral.com

Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday appointed the Democrat he faced in the 2014 gubernatorial election to a seat on the Arizona Board of Regents.

Fred DuVal, who ran for governor in 2014 and previously served as the regents' chairman, was appointed to the seat vacated by Regent Rick Myers, whose term ended. Myers was appointed by former Gov. Jan Brewer in 2010.

Ducey announced the appointment in a tweet Monday, praising DuVal's record on education.

"In Arizona, we know how to work together, across party lines, put aside our differences and get positive things done for the people we serve. Few individuals have a better record and history of doing that than @FredDuVal," Ducey wrote on Twitter.

In Arizona, we know how to work together, across party lines, put aside our differences and get positive things done for the people we serve. Few individuals have a better record and history of doing that than @FredDuVal. 1/4 — Doug Ducey (@dougducey) November 19, 2018

Ducey also pointed to DuVal's creation of the idea for the Arizona Teachers Academy, a program that allows some students who want to be teachers to get free tuition if they agree to stay in Arizona after graduation.

In the first year of Ducey's Teachers Academy, the program has yet to live up to its full goal of four years' free tuition.

MORE: Remember Ducey's 'free college for teachers' plan? Here's what happened

DuVal served on the Board of Regents from 2006 to 2012 and was chairman in 2011.

In a news release about DuVal's appointment, DuVal thanked the governor for his "spirit of bipartisanship."

"I look forward to using my previous policy experience as a Regent to make a significant impact on our state's workforce needs and economic development and to make college more affordable for all students. And as I take on this important role again, I look forward to collaborating with Governor Ducey on the full-scale expansion of the Teachers Academy at our three public universities," DuVal said.

Previous debates on education

When the two men ran against each other in 2014, Ducey criticized DuVal for his time on the regents. At one debate, Ducey said DuVal supported "record-high tuition increases, record-high spending and record-high borrowing."

During DuVal's previous time on the board, state funding to universities decreased sharply. DuVal voted "yes" on tuition increases each year during his time on the board. But when he was chairman, he proposed a one-year freeze on tuition rates for the following year, saying the pace of increases was unsustainable.

During the same debate in 2014, DuVal struck back against Ducey's claim about tuition hikes, saying he did what he could in the face of steep cuts to universities' budgets.

"His team broke it," DuVal said of Ducey during the debate. "I fixed it."

DuVal's appointment

DuVal's appointment will not meet the requests of advocacy groups who have called for more diversity on state education boards.

A report earlier this year from a group called Arizona for Latino Leaders in Education noted the state's three more influential education boards, one of which is the regents, only included one person who is Latino or Hispanic. The group said better representation is needed to help address education disparities between Latino and white students.

DuVal's appointment is effective immediately, a news release from the regents said. But the appointment will be sent to the Arizona Senate for approval when the legislature begins its session in January, the regents said.

Reporters Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Maria Polletta contributed to this story.

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