EAST LANSING — The Michigan State University Board of Trustees is expected to consider major changes to its Code of Conduct, dramatically limiting what trustees can say and do and establishing penalties including censure and potential removal from office for violations, during a special meeting Sunday night.
The move appears to be unprecedented among Michigan’s three largest universities, whose trustees are elected in statewide votes, not just because it comes with hefty penalties including possible censure.
In an 8 p.m. meeting, the MSU board is scheduled to consider a revised policy which would not only limit the capacity in which trustees communicate information to the public that elected them, but it also includes a list of punishments, from revocations of various privileges, including complimentary tickets for athletic events, discretionary travel budgets and potential loss of indemnification, according to documents obtained by the Lansing State Journal. Trustees are typically indemnified in their official capacity, which means MSU covers any legal costs.
The proposed Code of Conduct, which was last updated in 2020, stresses the importance of “loyalty” to the university as well, documents show.
The board is also expected to discuss a “Personnel Action” during the surprise Sunday board meeting, based on the published agenda. The university’s website does not include links to additional documents to either item.
The proposed changes come about two years after three trustees were censured by their fellow board members, one for making her concerns public, even though her accusations led to an expensive investigation that determined two other trustees has committed misconduct in office.
“We will act consistent with our fiduciary duties, including the duty of loyalty, and not make negative or critical public statements about the Board of Trustees’ deliberations, majority decisions, the Board of Trustees and its members, or the university and its administrators, faculty, staff, or students,” the proposed code reads, “because such statements can be harmful to the university’s interests – we will embrace the principle of loyal opposition and raise issues of concerns in appropriate settings, in advance of board action, and protective of the integrity of the board’s deliberations and processes.”
Through the proposed code, individual trustees would be at risk of punishment if they shared any information with the community or media without permission. Additionally, trustees could face sanctioning if they “represent our personal opinions as that of the university.”
If approved as proposed, the code would require each trustee to sign an agreement to abide by the code annually, and anyone who declined to sign it would be considered out of compliance, and subject to the wide range of penalties. Additionally, according to the document, any proposed changes to the code require support of six trustees, though any sanctioned board members would be excluded from the vote.
The proposed changes come after a series of public calls to action from the trustees.
Rema Vassar, D-Detroit, called for MSU to reverse changes to diversity, equity and inclusion made since President Donald Trump took office in an an opinion column published by Bridge Michigan in February. MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz and Board Chair Brianna Scott, D-Muskegon, both took issue with the column.
Guskiewicz said the column was inaccurate and misleading, and Scott said it had several mischaracterizations.
More recently, Mike Balow, the lone Republican on the board, has criticized MSU’s lack of oversight over new organizations that are designed to boost revenue for sports in the name, image and likeness era.
Spartan Ventures is designed to allow MSU new avenues to raise money for athletics as it works to compete in an increasingly expensive college sports landscape. And it has a subsidiary, a for-profit commercial arm called Spartan Media Ventures.
In December, trustees approved MSU entering a strategic brand management agreement with the new nonprofit in a 5-3 vote. Balow, from Plymouth, Vassar and Dennis Denno, D-East Lansing, were the no votes. All three said they were concerned they hadn’t seen the pertinent documents about the organizations.
The three had proposed making Spartan Ventures subject to Michigan’s open records law and doing away with NDAs during the April Board of Trustees meeting, though the resolution was removed from the agenda prior to the meeting. Balow proposed putting the resolution on the agenda, while Denno and Vassar backed his request.
Currently, Spartan Ventures and Spartan Media Ventures are not subject to public records laws. And according to a document shared with the State Journal, each breach of an NDA – which could include disclosing information, copying, reproducing, recording or retaining confidential information – would carry a $250,000 fine.
Balow has refused to sign an NDA, and he previously told the State Journal the university’s legal counsel would not provide documents concerning the two organizations to him unless he signed an NDA.
“We were elected to be the oversight,” Balow said during an April meeting about the role of trustees. “We cannot give away that responsibility.”
Contact Karly Graham at kgraham@lsj.com. Follow her on X at @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU board to consider new rules to stifle dissent among its ranks
Reporting by Karly Graham, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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