EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan State University Board of Trustees kept its Friday, Oct. 30, meeting in East Lansing civil, but two lawsuits filed by members of the board against their own colleagues and the university’s leaders were never far from the room.
Trustee Mike Balow sued Board Chair Brianna Scott in federal court two days before the meeting, arguing that the board’s revised ethics and conduct code, which keeps trustees from publicly opposing the majority, violates his free speech rights. A week earlier, Trustee Rema Vassar filed her own suit naming university leaders, among them President Kevin Guskiewicz. The board censured both trustees in June for refusing to follow the code, stripping perks such as free athletic tickets and limiting travel reimbursement.
The lawsuits were not on the agenda and did not come up until about 84 minutes in, when Faculty Senate leader John Aerni-Flessner said the feud among university leaders does nothing for the school’s mission. Vassar told the board no trustee should have to sue to be treated fairly. After the meeting, Guskiewicz dismissed the suits as drama, Scott said their timing so close to Election Day was deliberate, and she said a new censure of Balow and Vassar has not been ruled out.
The board’s published agenda for the session in the Hannah Administration Building included a state capital outlay request for fiscal year 2028 with a five-year capital plan, sign-off on the audited books for the fiscal year that closed June 30, 2026, a revision to MSU ordinances and a presentation on TEMPEST, the university’s newest science and technology center.
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Filed under: Lansing MI Education News
