Regent Sarah Hubbard sits down with The Daily, talks goals as Chair

Aug 02, 2023

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At their June meeting, the University of Michigan Board of Regents approved Regent Sarah Hubbard (R) to succeed Regent Paul Brown (D) as Chair of the board for the 2023-2024 academic year. The Michigan Daily sat down with Hubbard, who officially assumed her new role on July 1, to discuss her goals as Chair, President Santa Ono’s accomplishments one year in, current events on campus and more. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The Michigan Daily: What do you hope to achieve in your term as Chair of the Board of Regents?

Sarah Hubbard: I have said publicly that I really would like to help bring a focus to the alignment of the University to our economic development opportunities. President Ono was just put on the board of the strategic fund, which is the main board for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. It could be about keeping students here after they graduate, and helping keep them in state around great opportunities here, commercializing our technology here, just really helping the University be more of a part of the state of Michigan community as far as how we create, manage and retain jobs here.

TMD: What is your strategy to achieve your goals as Chair of the board?

SH: My strategy as chair is to just bring a lot more attention to (economic impact) by programming during board meetings, highlighting the efforts that we have already and encouraging our team to do more in all those areas. That’s kind of a high level goal as far as trying to move the University in that direction.

Other goals that are probably more tangible and closer to what we’re really working on day to day as a board include being sure that we can keep the new dorm, called the South Fifth dorm, on track and moving forward. We have such a great need for student housing, affordable housing that’ll let us offer housing to any freshman who wants it on Central Campus once it’s completed.

TMD: With President Santa Ono’s one year anniversary at the University quickly approaching, how do you feel his first year in the job has gone?

SH: I think it’s been a great first year. President Ono’s arrival on this campus was nothing short of celebrity status. His willingness to really talk with students, be out there in the mix and the connection he’s been able to make with everybody in the University community has been amazing and we’re really excited about that. That is a big part of the job — the external facing — to be able to connect with our students, with our faculty, with our donors, with our alumni and he is really great at that.

Additionally, he’s been able to move us forward on a number of initiatives. He has been able to get the University more involved in the state with his support for connecting us to a lot of sustainability and climate related activities as well. He’s really been a part of a lot of major issues on campus too, and navigating through those, like the strike we’re dealing with now and the building projects we’re involved in. We’re very happy with how he’s doing.

TMD: Contract negotiations between the University and the Graduate Employees’ Organization are still ongoing. What are your thoughts on the current state of contract negotiations? How is the Board working to address graduate students’ concerns?

SH: We’re really concerned about it and we really would like to get that wrapped up if at all possible before school starts. So tick tock, it’s August. But there’s a commitment on behalf of the University administration to negotiate and be at the bargaining table anytime any day. GEO are willing, (but) they have been a little less active in those discussions. We’ve also been willing to negotiate with them on a wide variety of topics they put on the table and we’ve transparently given them a lot of different kinds of approaches. There’s active participation by the board and trying to find some middle ground and get a win-win out of this situation.

TMD: How has the graduate student strike impacted the upcoming fall semester? What is the University doing currently to plan for the possibility of a fall without GSIs?

SH: We’re hoping it doesn’t happen. That’s the best case scenario, it doesn’t impact us at all. But I think we’ve learned a lot in the spring about what the impacts could be and how we need to manage that, and so we’re prepared to manage it should that happen. There are a lot of different ways to do that, but I think the GSIs learned in spring that when they don’t work they don’t get paid.

TMD: As a Michigander who attended two public universities in the state, you have seen the impact universities can have on their communities. How do you plan to maximize the University’s positive impact on the Ann Arbor community?

SH: It’s really about being part of the community. We have such a huge impact on Ann Arbor and on the state of Michigan, but really on the Midwest, on this country and on the world. Sometimes our leaders get more focused on our bigger reputation, be it nationally and globally, but I think it’s still very important to keep an eye on our local relationships.

For instance, as we acquire property to build the new dorm, that creates a discussion with the City of Ann Arbor and local government officials. It really provides an opportunity to bring them closer and more into our processes. That’s something that I would really support, making sure those lines of communication are really robust with the community stakeholders, and I think it’s something that President Ono is perfectly positioned to do more with because he’s a guy who really wants to have those relationships and wants to have a smooth path going forward.

TMD: During your campaign for the Board of Regents in 2020, you said you wanted to bring a new perspective to the Board. Do you feel you have done so? How do you plan to continue?

SH: I feel I have definitely done so and you could ask my colleagues. My perspective is that the University is such an important and really well-functioning machine that the Board needs to maintain stewardship and oversight but not to meddle to the point where we somehow by mistake go backwards. We need to keep going forward. Because of my experience related to government, too, I really come to the Board with an eye on the governance issues of what we do and how we do it. Those are more logistics and technical differences.

But I’ve also brought in different ideas from a different area of the state. I come from a very different background than anybody on the board. When I was an undergraduate student here, I was a Pell Grant recipient. I grew up on a farm. These are the kinds of things that are different from what most of the other board members have as their background.

TMD: Jim Harbaugh allegedly negotiated a four-game suspension for NCAA recruiting violations. What was the Board of Regents’ role in coming to this compromise, and will Harbaugh face any additional repercussions at the University level?

SH: What happens with Coach Harbaugh in athletics is primarily under the purview of our athletic director, so Warde Manuel is the one who you’d want to ask that question too. We are aware of many of the things going on there, but we’re not directly involved in them.

TMD: How does the Board of Regents balance keeping high academic standards while also attracting top talent in athletics, academics and research?

SH: I think we’re able to give our athletes a lot of support. A lot of our athletes across all of our sports are already some of the best academic students who are coming out of their high schools. If you think about sports that may not get as much attention as football, for instance, typically athletes are some of the best students in their school.

With athletes who need a little more help, we have robust support for them related to tutoring and wraparound services, and we want every athlete to be able to have an opportunity to graduate and to be able to go on and have a really successful career. We know that athletics is not the answer for most of their careers, so we’re really focused on being sure they get the academic support they need.

TMD: Recently, Northwestern University began investigating a hazing scandal across numerous sports. What is the Board of Regents’ perspective on the situation as leaders at a fellow Big Ten school?

SH: Hazing is bad. I think Regent Ilitch’s comments are really appropriate and timely. It was well-put by her. It’s not something we tolerate in any way. I’m not aware of that going on. What happened at Northwestern did inspire a few of the Board to ask a few questions. I am hopeful that that’s not going on here and I have no indication that anything like that is.

TMD: As the freshman class moves onto campus, they will soon explore all of the different classrooms, museums and unions. In light of that, where is your favorite spot to spend time on campus?

SH: Lately, one of my favorite spots to visit on campus has been Michigan Stadium, because I really am a sports fan in addition to all my work here on the board.

Summer Managing News Editors Mary Corey and Madison Hammond and Summer Senior News Editor Miles Anderson can be reached at [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected].

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