DeanWuBlog

Boards

I write to provide some background about the Board of Governors (BOG) of Wayne State University and the Board of Visitors (BOV) of the Law School. Wayne State University is one of three constitutionally-chartered state-supported institutions of higher education in Michigan; the others are University of Michigan and Michigan State University. These three institutions are also the only universities with significant research programs. There are ten other state-supported institutions of higher education in Michigan, but the others do not enjoy the same status nor do they have extensive research programs.

The BOG is the governing body of Wayne State University. You may be more familiar with a Board of Trustees, which is the functional equivalent at other institutions. The eight members of the Board of Governors are elected on a state-wide basis in partisan races. Two of our Law School alumni are Governors: Eugene Driker (Democrat, Class of 1961) and Elizabeth Hardy (Republican, Class of 1984).

The BOV is an advisory body of the Law School. Most law schools have a Board of Visitors or a Committee of Visitors, which serves primarily an advancement (i.e., fundraising) purpose and consists primarily of alumni. The BOV, unlike the BOG, does not have policy-making authority, but as Dean I consult with the BOV, especially its Executive Committee. The new co-chairs of the BOV are David Hempsted (class of 1975) and Earle Erman (class of 1974).