A member of the Arizona Board of Regents has announced his resignation from the board, effectively immediately.
Greg Patterson submitted his resignation letter Monday to board president Eileen Klein.
The Arizona Republic reports that Patterson's resignation stems from condescending comments he made to a rural state lawmaker earlier this year at the end of a private meeting over cost containment in higher education.
The newspaper says Patterson secretly recorded the meeting and shared it with others afterward.
In his letter, Patterson says he didn't want to become a distraction to the state universities' governing board.
He was appointed to the board by then Gov. Jan Brewer in 2012 and had served as chair since last July.
Bill Ridenour, current vice chair of the board, will become chair on July 1.
