NEWS

CMU Board of Trustees to discuss progress on improving rural healthcare

Trustees also will visit College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees will meet in formal session on the Mount Pleasant campus on Tuesday. Preceding Tuesday’s meeting, Richard Rothaus, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, will guide Trustees through a tour of the college’s facilities. The visit will include a glimpse at the future CLASS Career Pathways Center, the Center for Learning through Games and Simulations and the Institute for Transformative Dialogue.

During Tuesday’s formal session, Trustees will begin discussions to plan for a presidential search, including the hiring of a national search firm to assist with the process.

Also included on Tuesday’s agenda are a request for the authorization of renovations to Merrill Dining Hall and a request to approve the proposed tuition rate for the College of Medicine for the 2025-26 academic year. CMU President Bob Davies also will present a report on the accomplishments of students, faculty and staff since the last meeting of the Board.

Trustees also will consider approval of tenure, sabbaticals and emeritus rank, along with new endowments and naming opportunities.

Highlights for Monday’s committee meetings include:

Academic and Student Affairs Committee, 2:20-3:05 p.m. — Renee Watson, vice president of Student Affairs, and Andrea Roggenbuck, director of CMU Cares, will present on the CMU Cares student support program and student well-being. Alison Arnold, executive director of the CMU Rural Health Equity Institute, and April Osburn, executive director of the Central and Western Area Health Education Center, will discuss their collaborative effort to connect students to careers in healthcare and to connect communities to better health. Trustees also will receive updates from Jennifer DeHaemers, vice president of Student Recruitment and Retention regarding FAFSA changes and enrollment.
Finance and Facilities Committee, 3:15-3:45 p.m. — Trustees will discuss Merrill Dining renovations, collective bargaining agreements authorization and College of Medicine tuition, along with various real estate and advancement items.
Trustees-Faculty Liaison Committee, 4:00-4:45 p.m. — AnnMarie Bates, coordinator of Summer Speech-Language Specialty Clinics, and Allison Peart, director of the Psychological Training and Consultation Center and the CMU Approved Autism Evaluation Center, will present on interprofessional partnerships within the Carls Center for Clinical Care and Education.
Trustees-Student Liaison Committee, 5:00-5:45 p.m. — Four student leaders will give updates from their organizations. Tyler Zimmerman, SGA president, and Ryan Biller, SGA vice president, will provide the Student Government Association report; Hadlee Rinn, Program Board president, will report on Program Board activities; and Christian Toney, RHA director, will give the Residence Housing Association report.

Agendas for the February meetings, including both Monday’s committee meetings and the formal session Tuesday, are available on the Board of Trustees Agendas and Minutes webpage.

Board of Trustees meetings are open to the university community and members of the public. All meetings will be held in the President’s Conference Room in the Bovee University Center, with seating for up to 25 individuals in the adjoining Lake Superior Room; all meetings are also available via live stream:

Per the Board of Trustees bylaws, individuals wishing to address the Board of Trustees during the public comment period must submit a request in advance of the meetings in one of two ways: