Michigan Technological University Board of Trustees Chairman Jon Jipping, center left, and University President Rick Koubek began the boards meeting Friday with congratulation on MTU’s recent R1 Statud. The board was excited about the opportunities the status presents the University. (Ben Garbacz/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Michigan Technological University’s Board of Trustees held its regular meeting Friday in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

Among the agenda items was the retirement of Board Policy 9.14. The nearly 20-year-old policy, revised in 2010, created the Diversity Incentive Awards, scholarships from $1,000 to full tuition, for members of under-represented groups.

Among those to comment on the action was Alan Salmi, a disabled student over 60 years old. He suggested the University redefine words to continue the work Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs conduct.

“So here’s my simple idea, get some of your hackers, some of your creative people, to think of other ways in which you can call something DEI,” Salmi said.

Joan Shumaker Chadde, who worked in the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach for 27 years and was a past recipient of the Diversity Award echoed Salmi’s sentiments.

“You can change the words on these things,” Chadde said.

“I’ve talked to students who would say, ‘If it wasn’t for the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, I would not still be here.’ People need support, and when it says underrepresented, we should still be talking about women, right? Because we’re not at 50-50.”

The retirement of the policy and the reasoning for it was explained by Vice President for University Relations and Enrollment John Lehman.

“In 2006, the voters of the state of Michigan passed ballot proposal 2, which restricted the ability of public universities from offering financial aid based on race, gender or national origin,” Lehman said.

“Since that time, the Diversity Incentive Award has seen very little utility amongst financial aid staff.”

Lehman said that University Relations and Enrollment recommended the retirement of the policy to stay congruent with recent federal policy changes, law and established practices.

Due to the change, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion staff transitioned to new roles in the Waino Wahtera Center for Student Success. The Office of Engagement and Belonging was sunset with Wayne Gersie leading the new Office of Community Engagement as Vice President.

The Trump administration has tied federal funding for colleges and universities to the elimination of diversity programs and initiatives.

The meeting began with comments from Board Chair Jon Jipping and University President Richard Koubek on Michigan Tech’s recent designation by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as an R1 research institution. The distinction makes Tech one of 187 R1 institutions in the country and the fourth in Michigan.

“Our elevation to R1 status, a designation recognizing universities with very high strength and doctorate production is a testament to the dedication, passion, curiosity, creativity and intellect of our researchers, faculty, students, staff and community,” Jipping said.

“This accomplishment would not have been possible without the extraordinary contributions of so many so I want to extend our gratitude to our world class faculty, your passion for discovery, your commitment to mentoring the next generation of researchers and your groundbreaking work across disciplines are at the very heart of the R1 designation.”

R1 status requires a minimum of $50 million spending on research and development and the awarding of 70 or more doctoral degrees annually across research fields.

Michigan Tech spent $103,819,000 for the fiscal year of 2023 and awarded 86 research doctorates in the 2022-2023 school year.

The R1 status came after a new ranking system was established, as explained by Vice President of Research Andrew Barnard.

“2025 introduced a new ranking system, in part implemented to recognize specialized universities like Michigan Tech, who could not be recognized in the previous algorithm even though our research was much higher than many who were recognized,” Barnard said.

In other action, the board increased room and board rates for the 2025-26 academic year. Fees for housing raised anywhere from just over three percent to nearly seven percent depending on the building and the room’s size.

Meal plans also increased. Hillside Place meal plans were raised 21.48 percent for the 150 Block Plan, 15.34 percent for the 100 Block Plan and 13.81 percent for the 75 Block Plan. The standard dining plans were all raised over four percent while the summer rates were raised by 15.92 percent.