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The University of Michigan Board of Regents met in Flint Thursday to vote on an institutional neutrality bylaw, a contract extension for University President Santa Ono and initiatives for the University of Michigan-Flint campus.
The board unanimously approved an institutional neutrality bylaw which prohibits regents and other University leaders from making statements on behalf of the University on issues not related to internal governance. This bylaw follows a report presented at the September Board of Regents meeting.
During the meeting, University Regent Mark Bernstein (D) spoke in favor of the bylaw, citing the University’s past instances of neutrality in the wake of major world events.
“There was no statement after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln,” Bernstein said. “There was no statement during World War I. There was no statement during World War II. There were no statements after the JFK assassination, there were no statements and on and on and on. Institutional statements are a modern phenomenon and misguided venture that portrays a public mission. As an institution, therefore, we should put up questions before answers in this policy.”
Before the vote, U-M Flint professor Kimberly Saks spoke against the broad scope of the bylaw, claiming it is not always clear when faculty members are speaking as individuals versus as members of the U-M community.
“Sometimes lines are blurred as to when we’re speaking for those institutions and when we’re speaking for ourselves,” Saks said. “For example, I’m the associate director of a research institution here on campus. If I congratulate someone for research related to the institute’s mission on perhaps a political or social issue, am I speaking as an associate director or myself? This is a new calculus that faculty must engage in every time they speak, putting a chilling effect on even the most basic academic speech.”
University Regent Jordan Acker (D) agreed with Saks’ concern about the bylaws’ breadth, but ultimately said that he supports it.
“I’m standing on voting yes on this with some reservations,” Acker said. “Those reservations are twofold. First, I am a little concerned about how overly broad it is, and I think we need to see how this actually plays out in real life on our campus. The second one is about our communication. Historically, the University has not been the best at communicating, and it will be very important to our faculty, to our staff, to our students, that they understand that this is not a speech ban.”
Prior to voting, University Regent Sarah Hubbard (R) said the University heard similar feedback from the public and Senate Assembly Committee on University Affairs during a forum Wednesday. All of the regents were provided a transcript of the forum prior to the vote.
Hubbard said the regents took the feedback from Wednesday’s forum into account. For example, some attendees expressed concerns that institutes and centers might have their speech restricted as a result of the bylaw. Following these concerns, the bylaw as approved was adjusted to not include institutes and centers.
The board also unanimously approved a contract extension for Ono which will last until Oct. 1, 2032. The extension includes a new $1.3 million base salary, an increase from his previous $975,000, along with increases in annual deferred compensation.
University Regent Denise Ilitch (D) introduced the motion, citing the University’s accomplishments since Ono took office in the fall of 2022.
“(Ono) played a critical part in the final agreement and groundbreaking for the University of Michigan Center for Innovation Detroit, which will have a profound impact in economic growth and opportunity creation,” Illitch said. “He has led our Vision 2034 and Campus Plan 2050 through which we will make groundbreaking discoveries that impact the greatest challenges facing humanity.”
The board also discussed the status of the U-M Flint Transformation Plan two years after the plan was first announced. U-M Flint saw a 6.5% increase in enrollment from fall 2023 to fall 2024, building off the 2.42% growth that the campus saw from fall 2022 to fall 2023. Prior to 2022, enrollment had declined for eight consecutive years. In his chancellor’s report, U-M Flint Chancellor Laurence Alexander said enrollment is growing across the board.
“We note a 10% increase in graduate students, a nearly 5.5% increase in undergraduate students, and a fantastic growth in the area of transfer students,” Alexander said. “The number of undergraduate transfer students rose 25%. In addition to enrollment, student retention is also on the rise.”
U-M Flint senior Logan LaPeen, U-M Flint student body president, advocated for the Flint campus in his student government report. LaPeen stressed that Flint is different from Ann Arbor and should be treated as such.
“This is a regional public university with a distinct purpose, different from Ann Arbor,” LaPeen said. “Flint students often take longer to complete their degrees because they face food and housing insecurities. Many start to stop their education due to a lack of resources to finance college. Our students work two to three jobs, balance family obligations and still we persevere. The burdens we face are real, not just words on a page or in a report. Yet, despite these challenges, we remain hopeful.”
Arthur Lupia, U-M interim vice president for research and innovation, announced during the meeting that the University has exceeded $2 billion in research expenditures for the first time during FY24. In a University Record article published alongside the announcement, Lupia stressed that the research mission is committed to addressing the world’s challenges.
“Our capacity to turn challenges into opportunities for discovery exemplifies the transformative power of research at the University of Michigan,” Lupia said. “Our university’s research mission is driven by a commitment to addressing the world’s toughest challenges through groundbreaking discoveries and innovative solutions.”
Daily Staff Reporters Ava Chatlosh and Matthew Shanbom can be reached at chatlosh@umich.edu and shanbom@umich.edu.
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