CMU Board of Trustees open committee meetings to public to be more transparent
This month’s session of the board of trustees will see a significant change in previous policy — open committee meetings
On Sunday, the university notified faculty of the move.
Board Chairwoman Sarah Opperman said the decision was a result of discussions with University President George Ross and other board members. Longer presentations and more in-depth discussions, she said, occur during committee.
“Opening committee makes sense," she said, "so people who are interested in a specific issue are free to listen in on discussion presentation and discussion of the board.”
Steve Smith, director of public relations, said in an e-mail six of the seven committees will be open to the public from now on: Academic and Student Affairs, College of Medicine, Finance and Facilities, Policy and Bylaws, Trustees-Faculty Liaison and Trustees-Student Liaison committees.
The Audit Committee will continue to be private.
Open committee meetings begin Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the Presidential Conference Room in the Bovee University Center.
Ross said he and Opperman discussed opening the meetings following a call for additional transparency in his Transition Team reports, which have not been released publicly yet. He received the final reports Feb. 1.
“We decided it was the right thing to do,” Ross said. “One of the things that came back to the Transition Team survey data was we should be more transparent as a university and the real, in-depth discussion happens at committee.”
The board’s policy and bylaws are receiving some changes, according to the board’s agenda for Thursday's meeting; however, the Policy and Bylaws Committee will not meet this session.
Opperman said the changes have been discussed for some time because of overlap in discussions in certain committees.
“We were covering a lot of the same ground ... in both meetings," she said. "It made sense and was more efficient to bring those committees together."
Another change to the board’s bylaws address the executive restructuring Ross made last month, General Counsel Manuel Rupe said in an e-mail.
“The Board policies are being updated to reflect the organizational restructuring announced by President Ross,” he said. “These are very minor updates.”
