Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Public commenters press regents on Dearborn funding, DEI, union retroactive pay and carbon‑neutral goals
Loading...
Summary
At the University of Michigan regents meeting, speakers from Dearborn and Michigan Medicine urged the board to protect Dearborn’s share of capital funding, criticized perceived austerity and DEI changes, raised a union retroactive‑pay grievance, and urged faster carbon‑neutral steps.
Public comment at the University of Michigan Board of Regents meeting centered on regional campus equity, labor pay issues and sustainability.
Multiple Dearborn students, faculty and alumni — including Professor Liz Rowan and student Tanith Lorena — urged the board to protect Dearborn’s share of capital funding and to address what they described as chronic austerity in liberal‑arts programs that has increased class sizes and reduced instructional resources. Rowan said budget decisions have made it harder to deliver the small‑class experience Dearborn advertises, and Lorena said Dearborn students do not feel the same access to Ann Arbor resources.
Labor and hospital staff raised a separate, concrete issue: Nicole Hall, a Michigan Medicine pediatric palliative care social worker and steward with UMAP (the union of allied health professionals), thanked the regents for union support but said retroactive pay specified in the UMAP contract (retroactive to Nov. 1, 2024, and effective 90 days after ratification) was at risk for members who may leave the bargaining unit before payroll issues are resolved. Hall told the board the delay could deny earned back pay to long‑tenured staff and asked that management honor the contract terms.
Faculty governance was also on display: Derek Peterson, chair of the Faculty Senate, asked to be directly involved in the upcoming presidential search, described recent faculty votes on shared governance issues and urged a broadly representative search committee. Another public commenter representing Voices for Carbon Neutrality urged the university to accelerate electrification, adopt geoexchange systems and require sustainability planning for new Michigan Medicine facilities.
Board members responded to several points: they said some increases to DEI funding and student‑support programs have been made, described steps the administration has taken to assist international students (including visa reinstatements and travel support), and invited continued dialogue on Dearborn resource sharing. The board will not be taking immediate formal action on the public comments recorded at the meeting; commenters were advised of the rules governing public testimony.
