"As trustees, it's sometimes very difficult for us to sit in those Friday public meetings and hear things and not be able to respond directly at that time," Scott said over Zoom. "That's just not the place for that. And the thought around this was that we're really just sitting there listening. This gives us the opportunity to respond in real time and to discuss those things as opposed to being talked to." 

The stakeholder meeting last year generated scrutiny over its closed-door policy, with critics saying it shrouds a core tenet of university governance in secrecy. As part of the policy, the university handpicks stakeholders to meet at a private location on campus and media is barred from the room.

The State News covered last year's meeting from outside the Multicultural Center for its nearly six-hour duration. It took place in a room on the first floor, with police officers guarding both entrances and makeshift black curtains obscuring the windows. 

"It really wasn't to try to keep the press out or hide anything," Scott said. 

Michigan’s Open Meetings Act requires that all gatherings of a public body be open to the public. However, a 1999 state Supreme Court decision excludes public universities from the law’s requirements, due to their unique constitutional status.

That means MSU has broad discretion in deciding whether to let the public into its meetings. 

Scott said the "closed setting" allows for stakeholders to speak freely without public blowback. 

"We want there to be candid discussions without that fear of any type of reprisals or retaliations or anything like that," Scott said. 

This year, MSU received 117 stakeholder nominations from campus — only a small fraction of which will participate in the meeting on Thursday. When asked how MSU chooses their stakeholders, Scott said she doesn't know because "as a trustee, we didn’t take part in that." 

MSU Spokesperson Amber McCann sat in on the Zoom interview, where she added that everyone on campus was able to be nominated as a stakeholder as well as nominate discussion topics. 

Last year, the meeting replaced the regular September board meeting, which Scott said the university changed because of criticism from students and faculty. The day after the stakeholder meeting, the Board of Trustees will convene for a regularly scheduled meeting at the Hannah Administration building on Sept. 11 at 9 a.m. 

Leadership woes

Spartan Ventures CEO Jon Palumbo announced his departure for the University of Kentucky on Tuesday morning. The announcement comes shortly after former MSU Athletic Director J Batt departed to the same southern school. 

Scott described Palumbo's departure as a "loss," adding: "we certainly are going to miss him."

"The knowledge that he brought to this position and depth of understanding of what we were trying to do and where we were trying to go, obviously is something that is going to create a gap," Scott said.

She added that a search will likely take place following the Spartan Ventures Board meeting later today to discuss next steps. 

Over the summer, President Kevin Guskiewicz reversed his decision to leave MSU for Clemson University. But when he returned, it was apparent that Guskiewicz would have to mend some relationships after saying the board was in an "unsustainable situation." 

Guskiewicz said he had "productive conversations about how the board can operate more strategically" in a July interview with The State News. 

Scott said, for the board, many of those conversations included "deep" introspection into board actions that "led to what happened." 

"It was a learning process for all of us on how the ways in which we're interacting with one another — with the president and with the administration — could have some true impact on the university and how we have to be better," Scott said. 

Scott also mentioned the revised code of conduct and ethics, barring trustees from publicly dissenting from majority board decisions in their individual capacities despite internal pushback. The code aims to strengthen university governance, but garnered controversy this summer for restricting trustees' First Amendment rights. 

"There's other things that we need to work on inwardly and I'm hopeful that we are going to come out of this better and stronger," Scott said. "I know the president feels very optimistic. We're gonna govern in the way that we should, not micromanage in any way that would try to impede his effectiveness."