Regents committee adopts bylaw change to require chair consultation on appearance requests

Chair Cody Verhalen called the University of Minnesota Board of Regents Governance and Policy Committee to order and the committee voted to recommend adoption of an amendment to the board bylaws governing requests to appear before the board.

Associate Secretary Jason Langworthy told the committee the only change since December was to Article 6, the section that governs requests to appear. "You went with option 1, which is to maintain the current process where the chair rules on those requests," Langworthy said, and added that the amendment would require the chair to consult with the vice chair or vice chairs and the president before ruling. Langworthy said the amendment also directs that the chairs ruling and the request be shared with the full board and that requesters be asked to provide a rationale for why they seek to appear.

The change, Langworthy said, is intended to give the chair guidance when exercising an existing authority and to increase transparency so the rest of the board can see who requested to appear and the chairs ruling. Chair Cody Verhalen said he appreciated "the thoughtfulness that has gone into these changes" and that the amendment "creates an additional level of transparency."

There was no extended debate after the explanation. The committee moved to recommend adoption and, after a voice vote, the motion was approved. The docket materials will be sent to the full board with the Office of the Board of Regents directed to make any necessary technical corrections.

The committee did not conduct a roll-call vote in the transcript; the action was taken by voice vote at the meeting and recorded as approved.