Regent Paul Brown, a Democrat from northern Michigan, will succeed Jordan Acker as chair of the University of Michigan Board of Regents for the coming year. Regent Sarah Hubbard, a Republican from Okemos, will serve as vice chair.
The leadership changes were announced at the June 16 board meeting. Both will serve in those roles starting July 1 through June 30, 2023.
President Mary Sue Coleman said it was quite fitting that Brown would chair his first meeting of the board in northern Michigan “where Regent Brown grew up and where his family has made such an impact through the decades.” The board will meet July 21 in St. Ignace.
The president also thanked Acker for his leadership during “a most unusual year.” She said she has “appreciated his counsel over these past several months and his commitment to keeping the university moving forward.”
According to the Board of Regents’ bylaws, the chair and vice chair are appointed based on seniority, with the vice chair automatically succeeding to the position of chair the following year.
Primary duties of the chair include working with the vice chair, president and board secretary to help set the major topics for presentation or study by the board, monitoring committee agenda planning for coordination and comprehensiveness, presiding over executive sessions when scheduled without the president, communicating certain information to other regents, and appointing the chair and members of the ad hoc and standing committees.
If the chair is unable to perform the duties, the vice chair assumes them.
