PODCAST:
June 5, 2026 ~ Senator Sam Singh discusses a proposal that could change how Michigan selects university boards, the attorney general, and secretary of state.
LANSING, MICH. ~ With all of the presidential turnover that has hindered Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University, Senate Majority Floor Leader Sam Singh has proposed a new way to offset this issue.
As of now, those three university’s board members are selected at the Republican or Democrat Convention and then voted on by the people. The East Lansing Democrat Singh is vying for the governor to take over the process and select replacements after the current members serve out their remaining staggered eight-year terms.
“It’s kind of strange because the other public universities that we have in the state, whether they’re Western, Eastern, or Central, they’re all appointed by the governor,” Singh said on All Talk. “What kind of president is going to want to come to one of these institutions if all they’re watching is these political games that are being played versus if somebody was accountable to a governor and they weren’t doing their job, that governor would tell them to resign.”
In regard to the attorney general and secretary of state election, Singh’s plan would have them nominated through the Aug. 4 primary, as they are currently chosen through party conventions like university board members.
