More turnover at the Board of Regents

Two top officials at the state’s largest public college system have resigned.

Bill Bowes, the budget chief for the 100,000-student Board of Regents system, plans to leave May 16 for a new position at the University of Arkansas’ medical school.

Wendy Chang, the leader of the system’s information technology, will be leaving at the end of June to move back to her home state of Ohio to spend time with family.

The departure of Chang and Bowes follows a tumultuous merger of the state’s bachelor-degree granting universities with the community colleges, major cuts in funding from the state and a string of controversies that led to the resignations of the system’s president and vice president.

In a letter to staff, Phil Austin, the system’s interim president, announced Bowes’ departure.

“Bill has taken on the challenging job of managing the very different budget processes and finances of the [colleges and universities]. Bill and his staff have made great progress over the past year and we thank them for their efforts,” Austin wrote.

Three community college presidents have also resigned recently.

A new president for the 17-college system is expected to be named by the system’s governing board in the next two weeks.