Board appointments not a reflection of CMU community's diversity
Since Mooradian left the board, Keith is the only woman left.
The CMU Board of Trustees meets to discuss finance and facilities on Dec. 5 in the President's Conference Room. A three-year plan to renovate residence halls was discussed.
Central Michigan University's Board of Trustees has one less female member since new appointments went into effect on Jan. 1.
Outgoing governor Rick Snyder appointed Edward Plawecki and Todd Anson to replace trustees Bill Kanine and Patricia Mooradian, whose terms expired at the end of December 2018.
After the new appointees took their positions on the board, chairperson Tricia Keith is the only woman out of eight board members. There are also no minority populations represented on the board of trustees.
Women made up 55 percent of total campus enrollment in 2017. Since 1980, women have represented the majority of on-campus students, as high as 60 percent in 2001.
In comparison, the representation of women on the board was 25 percent in 2017, with two women: Keith and Mooradian.
Heather Smith, director of University Communications, said the university supports diversity, equality and inclusion.
“Trustee Keith clearly believes in (supporting diversity) and the university’s mission. She is a role model for women – something she takes seriously,” Smith said on Keith’s behalf. “She works hard to uphold other women.”
In Fall 2018, minority student enrollment made up 18.5 percent of the student population.
According to an April 2019 report by Academic Planning and Analysis, the number of minority students on campus in Fall 2018 was 3,103: 1,713 African-American, 342 American Indian/Alaskan Native, 395 Asian/Pacific Islander and 653 Hispanic.
CMU might support diversity, but the university has no say in who is appointed to its governing board.
The governor appoints trustees to the board. People interested in a board position at a Michigan university need to apply online first. If the governor’s office finds someone they think would be suitable for the position, it will prompt them to apply online first.
The applications get sifted through many divisions before reaching the governor. The Appointments Division reviews applications to match up a candidate’s background with possible openings. Then, the Governor’s Office takes these possible candidates and does a complete vetting, and the Appointments Division takes the remaining applications and makes recommendations to the governor to consider. Only then does the governor review applications to appoint a trustee.
This process is what happens at public universities in Michigan except for Michigan State University, University of Michigan and Wayne State University. Boards at these universities are elected.
In order to make the change from an appointed board to an elected board, it would require a Michigan constitutional amendment, said Shawn Starkey, communications director for Michigan Department of State.
Although CMU might support diversity on the board of trustees, the state legislatures must also support diversity for colleges across Michigan to have an equal representation of women on the board.
Central Michigan Life reached out to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office for what her policies and procedures will be when it comes to appointing trustees for Michigan's public universities. Her office did not provide comment.
Whitmer spoke at the Michigan Press Association annual convention Feb. 1 at the Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids, where she shared what some of her policies will be the appointment of trustees during her time in office. She said affordability and student safety will be key issues when appointing trustees.
"When it comes to (appointing trustees at) universities, it's about demanding answers to questions regarding student safety, to affordability, to ensuring that our universities are able to live up to our high expectations of delivering a great education," she said.
Student Government Association member Matt Hood said a lack of diversity on the Board of Trustees is a problem.
“If we have a lack of diversity, we won’t be able to represent our students,” the Dewitt junior said.
In CMU's most recent board at the end of 2018, the board consisted of members with backgrounds in business. Five board members were presidents and Chief Executive Officers of companies. There were two Executive Vice Presidents. One member was a Certified Public Accountant.
The CMU College of Business has 2,450 undergraduate students with a signed major in the college, representing about 13.7 percent of on-campus students.
Hood said this may be a problem when it comes to the "educational side" of higher education.
“By not having educators on our board, the board is becoming more business-orientated,” Hood said. “This isn’t a problem in terms of the university, but for the staff and students, it may cause small ruptures as business will collide with the education side of school.”
Part of the job is to govern the business and affairs of the university, as well as approve long-range plans, and ensure financial solvency, according to the State of Michigan. The other part of the job is to have ultimate responsibility for academic matters and assess educational programs.
New appointees Plawecki and Anson have backgrounds in business and education.
Plawecki received a degree in education from CMU and a law degree from Detroit College of Law. He worked as general counsel and director of government relations for many corporations and is a former adjunct faculty member at the University of Michigan and Davenport University.
Anson obtained a degree in mathematics from CMU and a law degree from the University of Michigan. He was an adjunct faculty member at the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business from 1985 to 1990. Anson has an extensive background in business and entrepreneurship, and is currently a managing member of One Pacific Sports.
