Regents of the University of Michigan

The Regents of the University of Michigan (also referred to as the Board of Regents) is a constitutional office of the U.S. state of Michigan which forms the governing body of the University of Michigan (including its satellite campuses in Dearborn and Flint).

The Board of Regents was first created by legislative act in 1837, and the regents as a body corporate have been defined in the Constitution of Michigan since 1850. There are eight regents, two of whom are elected to an eight-year term by statewide ballot every two years, plus the president of the University of Michigan, who serves ex officio but does not vote.

The board of regents is one of three elected university governing boards defined by the constitution of Michigan; the Michigan State University board of trustees and the Wayne State University board of governors are also elected in a similar manner. Michigan is one of four states with public university governing boards elected directly by the people (along with Colorado, Nebraska, and Nevada). In contrast, the state universities and the consolidated or coordinating boards in other states are controlled by governors and legislatures.

Current board The current board of regents consists of eight regents, two of whom are elected on a partisan statewide ballot every two years to an eight-year term, plus the president of the University of Michigan as an ex officio member. The regents (excepting the president) serve without compensation, and meet once a month in public session.

As of May 2025, the Board of Regents consists of six Democrats and two Republicans, besides the university president ex officio. {| class="wikitable sortable" !Name !Residence !Start !Next Election !Party

History

The board of regents was created by the Organic Act of March 18, 1837, that established the modern University of Michigan. The terms of the regents and their method of selection have undergone several changes since 1837, but the board has served as a continuous body since then. Although the board of regents was formed as a new legal entity in 1837, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in 1856 that it was legally continuous with the board of trustees of the University of Michigan that was formed in 1821, and with the Catholepistemiad, or University, of Michigania that was formed in 1817.

In 1817, Michigan Chief Justice Augustus B. Woodward drafted a territorial act establishing a "Catholepistemiad, or University, of Michigania. The territorial act was signed into law August 26, 1817, by Woodward, Judge John Griffin, and acting governor William Woodbridge (in place of Governor Lewis Cass, who was absent on a trip with President James Monroe). In consequence of the foregoing territorial act and the 1856 ruling, the present-day University of Michigan recognizes 1817 as the year of its founding.

Controversy over the homeopathic school

Prior to 1850, the University of Michigan in its various incarnations was a product of the Michigan Legislature (or its territorial equivalents), and the Board of Regents and its predecessors were subject to oversight and control by the Legislature. The state constitution of 1850 elevated the Board of Regents to the level of a constitutional corporation, making the University of Michigan the first public institution of higher education in the country so organized. The Legislature did not give up its control easily, and the Board of Regents engaged in a number of battles with legislators before the matter was settled, several of them involving the establishment of a school of homeopathy.

In 1851, a group of citizens who supported the homeopathy movement petitioned the Legislature to force the Board of Regents to add professors of homeopathy to the medical school staff. The board took no action, but Zina Pitcher wrote a detailed account of their thinking to leave for their incoming replacements (the first class of elected regents in 1852): ...shall the accumulated results of three thousand years of experience be laid aside, because there has arisen in the world a sect which, by engrafting a medical dogma upon a spurious theology, have built up a system (so-called) and baptized it Homœopathy? Shall the High Priests of this spiritual school be specially commissioned by the Regents of the University of Michigan, to teach the grown up men of this age that the decillionth of a grain of sulphur will, if administered homœopathically, cure seven-tenths of their diseases, whilst in every mouthful of albuminous food they swallow, every hair upon their heads, and every drop of urine distilled from the kidneys, carries into or out of their system as much of that article as would make a body, if incorporated with the required amount of sugar, as large as the planet Saturn?

Nothing further happened until 1855, when the Legislature revisited the subject and modified the Organic Act to include the provision that "there shall always be one Professor of Homœopathy in the Department of Medicine." The Board of Regents again took no action to comply. In 1867, the Legislature used the power of the purse and passed a statewide property tax to benefit the university "provided the board of regents would comply with the law of 1855, and appoint at least one professor in the medical department of the university." Although the money was desperately needed, the regents again refused to comply, and two years later the money was released by the Legislature without restriction. By 1871, the expressed public desire for a Homeopathic School led the Board of Regents to consider establishing one at Detroit, separate from the Medical School. In 1875, the school was actually established, but in Ann Arbor, not Detroit.

In 1895, the positions were reversed, and the Legislature tried to force the regents to move the Homeopathic School from Ann Arbor to Detroit. The regents refused, and the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution explicitly defined the powers of the Board of Regents independently of the Legislature, while every other corporation the constitution created had its powers specified by the Legislature. Justice Claudius Grant wrote: "No other conclusion was...possible than that the intention was to place the institution in the direct and exclusive control of the people themselves, through a constitutional body elected by them."

This ruling established the precedent that regents are constitutional officers and the Board of Regents is an independent body answerable to the people of the state, not to the Governor or Legislature. The Homeopathic School at the center of the battle was eventually merged into the Medical School in 1922.

2026 commencement address

On May 2, 2026, outgoing chair of the faculty senate and professor of history and African studies Derek Peterson delivered an address at the University of Michigan's Spring Commencement ceremony. In his address, he praised "pro-Palestinian student activists who have, over these past two years, opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity to Israel’s war in Gaza."

Sarah Hubbard, a Republican and current Michigan Regent, wrote on social media, "While I wasn't there yesterday to see it in person, what I have seen is incredibly troubling and disappointing. It is very difficult to execute meaningful consequences on tenured faculty but as a leader I can help set the tone and expectations for their conduct."

Michael Schostak and Lena Epstein, Republican-endorsed candidates for the 2026 Michigan Board of Regents election, issued a joint statement condemning Peterson's speech, saying, "commencement ceremonies exist to unite the University community around academic achievement, personal growth, and the promise of what comes next. It should not become a stage for political activism that leaves students feeling excluded or uncomfortable during one of the most important milestones of their lives."

List of members

The name, size, and method of filling the body now known as the Regents of the University Michigan has changed several times in its history.

Catholepistemiad, or University, of Michigania (1817–1821)

The Catholepistemiad, or University, of Michigania, was established by the Governor and Judges of Michigan Territory in 1817, following a plan devised by Chief Justice Augustus Woodward. The Catholepistemiad was self-governed by the professors (or Didactors) that held its thirteen professorships (didaxiim). In fact, the thirteen didaxiim were divided up between just two men, who thus controlled the entire institution: Rev. John Monteith, President (and holder of seven professorships) Father Gabriel Richard, vice-president (and holder of six professorships)

Board of Trustees of the University of Michigan (1821–1837)

In 1821, the Governor and Judges of Michigan Territory renamed the Catholepistemiad to the University of Michigan, and placed control of the university in the hands of a board of trustees consisting of 20 citizens plus the Governor. Their previous positions abolished, Father Richard and Rev. Monteith were both appointed to the board of trustees; Monteith left that summer for a professorship at Hamilton College, while Richard remained on the board until his death in 1832.

As it was common during this era for the Governor to be absent, the various men who served as Acting Governor are included in this list in italics, but no specific dates should be inferred as to when exactly they were Acting Governor. Also, no predecessor/successor relationship among specific Trustees should be inferred from their relative position in the table. Using the terms in office cited in the historical sources, at some points there are up to 22 simultaneous Trustees, even though only 20 were called for. YearGovernor (ex officio)Appointed Trustees1821Lewis CassWilliam WoodbridgeRev. John MonteithHenry Jackson HuntJohn HuntCharles LarnedPhilip LecuyerFather Gabriel RichardBenjamin SteadAppointed but declined to serve .Christian ClemensWilliam H. Puthuff, indicates William H. Puthoff of Michilimackinac served from 1821 to 1834, but William H. Puthuff, mayor of Michilimackinac, died in 1824 .1822Abraham EdwardsThomas Rowland18231824182518261827Jonathan KearsleyNoah M. WellsJames KingsleyL. HumphreyRichard Berry182818291830James WitherellJohn T. Mason1831George B. PorterStevens T. Mason183218331834Stevens T. Mason1835John S. HornerJohn McDonnell18361837Ross WilkinsJohn Norvell Source:

Appointed Regents of the University of Michigan (1837–1852)

The Organic Act of March 18, 1837, created the modern board of regents. In its original form, it consisted of 12 members appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate, along with the Governor himself, the Lieutenant Governor, the Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court, and the Chancellor of the state. The act also created the office of chancellor of the university, who was to be appointed by the Regents and serve as ex officio President of the board. In fact, however, the Regents never appointed a chancellor, instead leaving administrative duties up to a rotating roster of professors, and the Governor chaired the board himself.

Regents of the University of Michigan

Bron en licentie