Graphic by Ava Weinreis
Interim-president Jeffrey Ettinger started in the role on June 10.
University of Minnesota Board of Regents votes compiled over the last year show voting trends among regents, the differences in members’ voting styles and how often the board has agreed unanimously.
The Board of Regents consists of 12 members who serve six-year terms and oversee the functions and decisions of the University. The members represent all eight congressional districts as well as four at large positions and are elected by the Minnesota State Legislature.
At its monthly meetings, the board votes on actions ranging from University presidential compensation to the Annual Operating Budget. While these votes are made public through meeting minutes, there is no formal compilation of this information. The Minnesota Daily collected votes from June 2021 through July 2022 to present a clearer picture of the board’s decisions.
At the time of these votes, David McMillian served on the board before becoming the interim chancellor of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The newly elected Regent Tadd Johnson began his term in September and will not be represented in the data.
Breaking down the trends
Within Board decision making, regents tend to vote the same a majority of the time. From June 2021 to July 2022, the board took 109 votes, 81 of which were unanimous and 28 that were split among regents. These split votes occur about 26% of the time, however, there are trends in which regents stray from the majority vote.
While many regents including Chair Ken Powell, Regent Ruth Johnson and Regent Doug Huebsch are in the majority 100% of the time, others follow closely behind, including regents Steve Sviggum and Kodi Verhalen both at 96.43% and Bo Thao-Urabe at 94.12%.
Before he became Duluth’s interim chancellor, McMillian served on the Board for 11 years. His appointment as interim chancellor was surrounded by controversy because President Joan Gabel, whose salary increase he voted on in December 2021, was supposed to appoint the position. After community members voiced concern, Gabel deferred the decision to the board.
McMillan voted with the board majority 100% of the time from 2021-22.
Regents James Farnsworth and Mike Kenyanya fall in the middle, voting 35.71% and 69.23% of the time with the majority in split votes.
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