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Michigan State University Trustees Rema Vassar and Mike Balow are calling on Attorney General Dana Nessel to investigate a new ethics policy for university board members passed by trustees 5-3 last month.
Vassar and Balow declined to sign the new code of ethics and conduct that limits trustees from dissenting from majority board decisions and references a “duty of loyalty.”
President Kevin Guskiewicz said in a letter last week that the changes were necessary because some trustees have undermined decisions and abused their access to confidential information to promote personal agendas.
He said the behavior contributed to him rejecting a nearly $1 million pay raise and leaving MSU.
Balow, a Republican, said during a press conference Wednesday at the Michigan Capitol that he declined to agree to the new code because it impedes free speech.
“The example we set for our students is important,” Balow said. “Either we value an exhaustive approach to discussing the great issues of the day, or we do not.”
Trustees who don’t agree to the code can face consequences.
Vassar, a Democrat, said she had her registration for the Mackinac Policy Conference canceled after declining to sign the code.
“If a public university can sanction an elected official for refusing to sign a loyalty pledge, the principle of free democratic representation is at risk,” Vassar said.
Michigan Department of Attorney General spokesperson Danny Wimmer said the department does not legally advise the university or trustees, and that any advice provided by the office would not be legally binding on the university.
Vassar said she may seek legal advice from outside groups, including the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
The press conference also included MIGOP Chair Jim Runestad and Julie Maday, a Republican candidate for the MSU Board of Trustees.
Asked whether she would vote for Maday over Democratic incumbents Brianna Scott and Kelly Tebay, Vassar did not deny that she was considering breaking from her party.
“That’s an interesting question,” Vassar said. “You know, Republicans never answer that question. They never answer who they’re going to vote for. I’m going to take a beat from them.”
Vassar’s term is scheduled to end in 2029. She would be up for re-election in 2028 should she choose to run again.
