Most months of the year, the 12 members of the University of Minnesota's governing board meet for two full days. Just after taking office, new President Eric Kaler asked: Is that excessive?
Some boards meet quarterly, Kaler noted. He requested that the board consider paring its schedule to save the time of senior staff, who present to the board.
On Friday, the regents will vote on a resolution that whacks the (formerly tentative) April meeting and labels the November meeting as tentative.
If passed, it could mean shaving up to two meetings off a 10-meeting-a-year schedule. But based on a quick review of past years' agendas, the board has often chosen not to meet in April.
"More than one of my senior staff has commented to me that April is a wonderful month because they don't have to spend the two weeks of time they usually spend preparing for a board meeting," Kaler told the board this summer.
A typical month goes a little like this: On Thursdays, regent committees receive and question staff members on reports -- renovation plans, audits, summaries of investments. On Fridays, they hear a report by the U president, honor faculty and vote on big issues, buildings, policies.
Some regents worried that with fewer meetings, they'd be less able to deeply discuss the numerous strategic issues the U is confronting. We'll see what the discussion on this resolution is like Friday morning.
