Shaky relations between university officials and the Board of Regents could contribute to slumping support for what has been designated as the state’s flagship university, a regent and university system officials said in several interviews.

University President Dan Mote said in an interview that in a review of his job performance covering five years, he was given high marks for rapidly turning the university’s reputation as a research institution around, but suggested he strengthen relations with regents to improve effectiveness as president.

“While the campus is driving in the right direction, it needed a coalescence with the system,” Mote said.

Regents Chairman Cliff Kendall said he didn’t think there was a communication problem between the university and the system but agreed the university hadn’t received the attention it should for its state-mandated flagship status.

Officials with knowledge of the performance review, including Kendall, are barred by law from discussing or providing copies of the report because it is considered a personnel record.

“All of the regents are very cognizant of [the flagship status], but quite frankly I don’t think that the actions have reflected that,” Kendall said.

At a meeting last month, Regent Patricia Florestano also expressed concern about the treatment the campus has received from the board, and admitted she doesn’t always consider the flagship status when making budget decisions.

“Have we in fact been neglecting College Park?” Florestano said. “Maybe we have to rethink our own priorities.”

University System Chancellor Brit Kirwan confirmed Mote’s performance review, but declined to reveal specifics.

He added that both sides have been pursuing more structured, systematic approaches to communication with regents. Both Provost Bill Destler and Vice President of Administrative Affairs John Porcari meet monthly with their system equivalents, Destler said, and there are also between six and seven board meetings yearly that include both campus and system officials.

Kirwan, the main go-between for regents and university officials, said communication between Kirwan and Mote tends to be more regular and informal.

“Dan and I are frequently e-mailing each other at 10:30 or 11 at night,” Kirwan said. “We haven’t started instant messaging yet but maybe that’s still to come.”

Although Kendall said he did not perceive major communication issues, he acknowledged that other system needs often detract from the regents’ mission to maintain a sprawling flagship university with aging buildings and a growing need to keep up with technology.

“That’s one of the things that I personally bring up, that we have an obligation to do this and there are a lot of other pressures that come to bear,” Kendall said.

Some of the pressures included are the “enormous amount” of funding the regents sets aside for historically black colleges and universities, as well as the need to grow the system to handle larger numbers of students. Critics have said this university – which has not increased enrollment in several years – has been shortchanged while other system schools such as Towson have pumped up enrollment numbers.

“These are all things that need to be balanced and funded,” Kendall said. “Quite frankly the regents don’t control the purse strings.”

Regents set a goal this year to encourage and support the university aggressively in seeking private funding, Kendall said, and Mote is set to launch a massive fundraising push later this month.

“The big thing is the university needs to raise more private funding from its alums and others,” he said. “To become really elite it needs more funding than it’s receiving.”

Former Regent Jim Rosapepe, now running for state Senate, added the university could also do a better job engaging the regents.

“My guess is what the review was suggesting, and it certainly is true in my experience, some of the other campuses do a better job engaging with the regents,” he said. “And part of it is the campus is just very big compared to other campuses and people are pulled in a lot of different directions.

“It’s probably the case that some other campuses simply put more time and effort into their relationship with the regents.”

Rosapepe said the since the university population includes tens of thousands of students and faculty, it could advocate its interests to the regents more effectively if more people got involved.

“Not very many of those students and employees are regularly engaged in advocating for the campus and its interests,” he said.

Contact reporter Sara Murray at murraydbk@gmail.com.