Jim Hayes was known as a good man. As the former mayor of Fairbanks and as the pastor at Lily of the Valley Church, Hayes was supposed to be a pillar of the community. Serving on the University of Alaska Board of Regents, Hayes is required by law to act as an ethical public official.

Alas, this week saw Hayes and his wife indicted on 92 counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering. According to the federal grand jury indictment, the Hayeses misused more than $450,000 in federal grant money intended for LOVE Social Services Center. The money, intended for low income youth, was instead spent on constructing Hayes' church, a plasma TV, and a wedding reception for his son, among other inappropriate uses of taxpayer dollars.

Hayes is of course innocent until proven guilty. But evidence has already come forward that Hayes may have also misused his position as a regent for personal gain. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Saturday that it had obtained a letter Hayes wrote in 2003 to the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to help LOVE Social Services secure a $745,000 grant. Hayes, who is a member of LOVE's board of directors and whose wife directed the center for $60,000 a year, wrote the letter on paper featuring the university's seal. He signed it, "James C. Hayes, Board of Regents, University of Alaska."

State and university regulations make it illegal to use a state position for personal gain. The letter would indicate Hayes ignored these rules.

It's simply disgraceful to think the Board of Regents has a member this corrupt in its presence. He's chair of the Human Resources Committee, and he's one of two regents who gets a voice on the state committee that deals with student loans and financial aid. Oh, and let's not forget this doozey: He's a member of the regent's finance committee. Is this the type of person who should be dealing with UA's money?

The regents can't kick him off the board. Only the Legislature can do that, and it should look into that. But there's a simpler option: Mr. Hayes, you should resign. You rightly skipped this weekend's regent retreat in Anchorage, but that's not a solution. Your criminal charges have already cast a dark cloud over UA's reputation.

If you were a basketball member, like Chris Jordan or Chris Adams, the two Cutler Apartment burglars, you would have been kicked off the team the minute charges came forward. Instead, you're a regent, and the procedures are slow and tedious to get you out of our system. You get to stay on that team as politicos and the courts determine your future.

Mr. Hayes, you know if you violated the law. You know if you've been ethical. And you shouldn't need to be told by a student newspaper that it's time to quit. But frankly, it is. Get out of the Board of Regents now while the getting's good. Students pay good money to attend this university, and we don't want someone as corrupt as you influencing how our money is spent.