A new governor brings with it new appointees to Michigan’s public universities. Governors get two appointments every two years at Michigan’s 13 public universities—unless there is a vacancy due to resignation, death, etc., during a given year. This year during his last month Governor Snyder is making appointments and the next round of appointments in December 2020 will be by Governor Whitmer (again unless there is an opening due to resignation or death during 2019 and early 2020).
We hope that she and her policy team will spend time with their new potential appointees to assure that they will govern and support the new Governor’s higher eduction policies and budgets. I have always thought that an annual meeting of the governor’s higher education appointees would be very helpful to the Governor, the legislature and the higher education community. It would bring clarity and coordination to higher education policy setting and governance at each university and throughout higher education.
As Governor Snyder leaves office on January 1, 2019 he will have made 100% of appointments to the 13 university boards during his eight years in office. All the trustees are Snyder appointees and that will not change until Governor Whitmer gets to make her first university trustee appointment. Maybe it would be a good idea for Governor Whitmer and her policy team to meet with all the current university trustees early this coming year and discuss the major Michigan (and federal) higher education issues that are and will confront higher eduction policy makers in 2019.
The Whitmer team could discuss their outlook on higher education budgeting, free community college tuition, tuition rate increases, tuition caps, Title IX, campus safety, transparency, etc., etc.. The dialog would be healthy and might bring increased coordination and sharing between the universities and the public policy leaders in Lansing, Michigan.