Board of Trustees Committees meet, discuss recent events

Ahead of their full session on Thursday, the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees met in four committee meetings. They heard from students, staff and faculty about recent events on campus along with updates on ongoing programs and projects. 

Academic and Student Affairs Committee

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After presentations from Rob VanDorin, director of the career development center, and Luke Theis, senior assistant director of competitive gaming, the Academic and Student Affairs committee heard from Provost Nancy Mathews about the newly approved freedom of expression statement and efforts toward constructive dialogue education. 

To support the third priority of the strategic plan, enhancing organizational culture, Mathews said the Academic Senate and the Student Government Association (SGA) have approved the use of the Yale freedom of expression statement as a model for writing one for CMU. 

That version of the statement puts an emphasis on community consideration rather than complete freedom. 

During the 2023-24 academic year, Mathews said her team tested out three dialogue trainings. She said the most effective was the Institute for Transformative Dialogue workshop.

“This is probably going to be the one we will want to see have a real foothold,” Mathews said. “The process was pioneered by the University of Michigan, and it has been adopted on many campuses across the country.

“It is one that does have roots in social justice and allows us to have conversations about DEI in a way that helps us understand what others are experiencing.” 

Mathews said the plan is to incorporate one of the trainings, which is not yet decided, into existing programs: 

• Leadership Safari
• IMPACT
• Leadership Advancement Scholars
• Residence Life 
• Multicultural Advancement and Lloyd M. Cofer Scholarships
• Innovation and Online

Finance and Facilities Committee

At the Finance and Facilities Committee meeting, the board heard from Associate Vice President of Facilities Management Jonathan Webb and CMU Police Department Lieutenant Mike Sienkiewicz as they gave reports on their departments’ current projects. 

Facilities management has several ongoing projects for the summer: 

• Demolition of the Northwest apartments 
• Planning for the renovation of Merrill Dining
• Roof replacements and repairs
• Civil deferred maintenance (sidewalk repairs and parking lots)
• Electrical deferred maintenance (fire system replacements and elevator repairs) 
• Mechanical deferred maintenance (potable water, sanitary sewer and air handling repair)
• “Maker Space” investment by the College of Science and Engineering

“CMU has a professional workforce to operate, maintain and repair the CMU campus 24/7/365,” Webb said. “We right now have 84 students, we have roughly 50 in landscape operations. We are grateful for the student employees that join up with facilities management.” 

Sienkiewicz also reported progress and more projects to come. He said over the course of the year CMUPD partnered with facilities management to expand the access controls to 12 academic buildings. At the beginning of the year every residence hall and four academic buildings had access controls. 

“By later this year we anticipate everything between Broomfield and Preston Street will be online,” Sienkiewicz said. “In an emergency we want to be able to secure and create that extra layer to keep people safe. We have a button in our dispatch… and all the doors that are on the system are instantly secured.” 

Trustees-Faculty Liaison Committee

The Trustee-Liaison Committee decided to roll with the topic of tabletop games during their meeting.

The Center of Learning through Games and Simulations (CLGS) focuses on just that: Creating and providing tabletop games to students to advance their learning. They currently offer a certificate in Applied Game Design and a minor in Game Design Thinking (GDT). 

Two faculty members, Tracy Davis and Jonathan Truitt, came to speak on what the center is currently doing and how it embodies the “strategic vision” for interdisciplinary learning based on the Strategic Plan. 

Davis said that the center encourages student engagement, critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, retention of information and forming stronger bonds. Citing the center's 2018-19 survey, she said the survey shows students had a 75% increase in friendships and a 45% increase in class attendance.

“Really what we’re seeing is these games increase the networks that students need and have struggled with,” she said. 

Davis also cited that CLGS has almost 30 faculty members across the six colleges that implement games into their teaching. She discussed some other activities the center is involved in, such as workshops, taking students to conventions, and a range of collaborations from local businesses to international universities. 

Truitt spoke more specifically on Central Michigan University Press, where CLGS distributes the games they’ve created. One game he cited specifically was Rising Water, which is based on the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and how it affected the African American population. He said these games all have educational elements to them, but they’re not limited to school use.

“We’re really trying to get this as diverse as possible,” Truitt said. “Publishing games that can both land at home or in the classroom… it's really important to us.”

Next year, Davis and Truitt said the center plans to expand their capabilities further, such as by creating internships, setting up a pride gaming convention, working with the Castle Museum of Saginaw County History to create an escape room and even labeling certain general education courses as GDT. Davis said if the latter were to happen, CMU would be the first university in the country to do so. 

Trustees-Student Liaison Committee

Student Government Association President Tyler Zimmerman started the meeting with acknowledging the events of racial slurs that took place on campus April 15.

“Our institution has been confronted with incidents involving the use of deeply hurtful and divisive slurs,” Zimmerman said. “Our campus should be a place where every individual feels safe, valued and empowered to thrive academically, socially and personally. Yet when incidents like this occur, it undermines the very foundation of our commitment to fostering an environment of diversity, equity and belonging.”

Junior Kendall Wallace joined the Board’s meeting to share that the events have impacted her personally.

“We believe that the best way to condemn these hate speech allegations and events is also the simplest, which is to ensure the faculty and students are always educated on how racism and racial injustices affect us all as a campus,” Wallace said. 

Wallace shared a list of commands for the Board that she developed with other African American students. In it, she said she would like to see expulsion, suspension or academic probation of the students who have used the racial slurs. 

If that isn’t possible, Wallace asked to mandate a zero-credit course remedial racism for those students and for this situation to remain on their public records.

Wallace also asked to implement a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech and racism in the Code of Conduct and mandate a course or training for all incoming students and faculty on racism and discrimination education.

“We would also like to see a prioritization and funding for DEI programs such as Impact, which is something that was also stated in the five-year (strategic) plan,” Wallace said. “But we would like to see this be more prioritized … because of the fact that a lot of students do not feel that they have enough safe spaces to go to as people of color.”

Trustee Sharon Heath said the events has hit personally, and she promised that the Board will take action.

“We feel the pain,” Heath said. “Some of us know the pain personally and some of us know it, not in relationship to racism by being discriminated against in other ways … It's a personal thing for me and my colleagues to make sure that this doesn't happen.

“I tell you what, some of the things that are on your list, whoever is involved with (using racial slurs), they probably need to figure out where to work and where to finish out their classes, because they may not be here.”

At the meeting, Zimmerman also introduced the new SGA executive board, effective next academic year. They are: President Carolina Hernandez Ruiz, Vice President Aashka Barot and Treasurer Akua Acheampong.

Hernandez Ruiz and Acheampong both spoke at the meeting, condemning the racist events and sharing their vision for their leadership.

“I'm still angry,” Acheampong said. “I've been for a while. I know we've said before that it's not just about the word, but the root of the word and its usage and the impact of that word. 

“Although I agree with remediation, as some of my fellow students have suggested, I personally advocate very strongly for expulsion and removal of the staff.”

In other events at the meeting, future student leadership for the Program Board and Resident Housing Association also introduced themselves at the meeting.

Current SGA Vice President Ryan Biller gave a report on SGA’s accomplishments this year involving guest speakers, freedom of expression meetings, committee events, creation of judicial branch and other notable achievements.

Zimmerman brought a $5 environmental fee legislation for the Board to vote on later, which SGA has already approved.