Scott, in a statement to The State News, wrote that trustees began discussing the possibility of holding a public meeting in September after last year's forum. That forum was criticized by some for lacking transparency, while proponents argued the forum's private nature allowed for frank conversation.

“I think this is a great compromise and I look forward to another opportunity to host and meet with our campus community as part of the September stakeholder engagement forum,” Scott wrote.

The board meeting will take place on Sept. 11, one day after the forum on Sept. 10.

The board reduced the number of times it was required to meet each year from six to five in December 2024, with the intention to hold two meetings each semester and one in the summer.

The resolution, which was passed in a 6-2 vote, explained that the decision was made after "examining best practices across comparable institutions,” and served to streamline the meeting process.

Board meetings have long been the standard way the public can address MSU leadership, though the resolution stated that the move was not an attempt to limit engagement with the board.

The "Stakeholder Engagement Forum” held last September, was birthed from a portion of the resolution which called for the president and board secretary to explore alternative forums where issues could be discussed.

Roughly 50 invitees, including university administrators, faculty and student leaders, actually attended the forum. While the forum raised concerns of transparency and proper engagement among its attendees, then-Board Chair Trustee Kelly Tebay said that the forum’s private nature allowed for “real conversations."

Despite the addition, MSU spokesperson Amber McCann said that no formal action will be taken to reinstate the required number of annual meetings back to six, since the bylaws only require five meetings but allow for additional meetings to be held when needed. 

“Next year they may choose to add a sixth meeting again, they may choose not to — but there is no requirement that they consider adding additional meetings,” McCann said. “Their only requirement is that they hold five meetings a year based on the resolution they adopted.”

Although McCann said she could not provide an exact date as to when this decision was finalized, she did add that the board office made a request to update their website this week.

Trustee Mike Balow took issue with the decision to eliminate the September meeting when it first passed in 2024, then speaking as a trustee elect. Now a serving member of the board, Balow said he's pleased with the decision to host the meeting this year and begin the semester “in an open and transparent way."    

“There's a tremendous amount of business that the university needs to conduct that is of the public interest, and having those six meetings — and having at least one at the beginning of each semester — is important,” Balow said.

Balow said he'd also be in favor of amending the board bylaws to require six meetings, as “having a minimum of six meetings every year is important, not only to us, but to the people around the state.”

Balow said he plans on bringing this to the board in the future, noting it hasn't been discussed yet by trustees.

Part of those discussions involved how to improve the board’s stakeholder forum from its initial iteration, and while those discussions are ongoing and specific changes haven’t been finalized, Balow said the goal is to ensure that more people have a chance to participate.