MSU trustees will decide at Friday's meeting whether they can elect their next leader.

Under a proposal by Trustee David Porteous, board members would elect a trustee to serve a two-year term as chairperson. The board would then elect a vice chairperson of the opposite party. After the first term, the chairs could be re-elected.

Currently, a trustee is appointed annually on a rotating basis to each position.

Trustee Scott Romney supports the proposal and thinks the current rotation system makes the chairperson position a trivial one.

"This will help us in providing a more definitive spokesman for the board," the Birmingham Republican said, adding an elected chairperson would be more responsible to the board and would work better with the administration.

Romney also said the current system is unique to MSU.

"We found no place else in the entire country where people rotate the chairperson," he said, adding that it wasn't a partisan issue.

The board is composed of five Republicans and three Democrats.

Outgoing chairperson Don Nugent said he had mixed feelings about electing a chairperson.

"It provides more continuity as far as some person may remain in chair for a couple years or more," Nugent said.

But he added some would argue everyone should have a turn at heading the board.

The Frankfort Republican said all eight board members are committed to their positions, but some make better leaders than others.

"There are functions that request the chair to attend and speak at," he said, adding some trustees, because of their jobs, might not be able to spare time for traveling, speech preparation and attendance of events. Nugent said he would not have the time to take on the position this year.

The chairperson acts as a liaison between the board and the administration and reviews board meeting agendas, said MSU President M. Peter McPherson.

He said he thinks it's practical to review the way the board is structured.

"It's appropriate for them to elect their own chairperson," he said, adding he also thought both Democrats and Republicans would support the resolution.

Before 1995, the board elected its chairperson, McPherson said.

Trustee Joel Ferguson, a Democrat, said the initial change to appoint a rotating chairperson was a mistake.

"Someone had a brain stroke and had enough votes to make it happen," he said.

Staff writer Amy Bartner contributed to this report.