The University of Minnesota Office of Information Technology (OIT) is currently developing a proposal to retire University email accounts for alumni and retired faculty and staff.

This proposal would discontinue University sanctioned Gmail accounts for all graduated students and faculty members who no longer work at the University, except for professors emeriti and alumni involved in University fundraising and communications.

Talks of this proposal started at the OIT in 2019. The University has cited multiple reasons for the proposal, including cost savings and information security.

“The discussion about whether and how the University will offer access to UMN email accounts after retirement or graduation has only been a proposal and is still underway,” Nathan Kufner, the senior director of identity and access management in OIT, said in an email to the Minnesota Daily. “Because of the drastic changes to the email landscape over the past 20 years, the University must pursue this change with appropriate consideration of the risks, costs and benefits.”

When the University began to provide students with lifetime email accounts, there were fewer security concerns and unlimited storage space for little to no cost, according to the OIT.

Google announced in 2021 that the company would no longer be providing free, unlimited storage and will start charging $150,000 for every petabyte over a pre-imposed limit by 2025.

If the University does not cut down on storage by this time peg, it will cost the institution $1.5 million annually, according to the OIT.

Alumni and retirees make up about one-fourth of the data stores in the University’s Google Workspace.

The University is collecting multiple forms of input, including consultation with the Alumni Association, the University of Minnesota Foundation, colleges, departments and student representatives, according to Kufner.

The in-process proposal will phase out emails in stages, starting with students graduating this spring. There will be a three-month transition window for graduates to move their information to different accounts.

Alumni and students express concerns

After finding out about the University’s proposal development, former University of Minnesota-Duluth student David Herrera Santacruz started a petition on Change.org to urge the University to reconsider the email retirement.

The petition has garnered more than 6,600 signatures since the beginning of February.

“My goal was to create awareness, a grassroots initiative to point out the flaws in this process,” Herrera Santacruz said. “We cannot move forward without community input.”

Herrera Santacruz noticed the proposal on the University’s information technology business management portal, Atlas, last month and wanted to bring it to the University community’s attention. He said he believes there needs to be more community input in the proposal development process.

Fourth-year student Alyssa Bixler signed the petition because she has multiple external accounts linked to her University email and is concerned about what will happen to them if emails are retired.

“We’ve been using it [University email] for all four years in college, and it has a professional association with it,” Bixler said.

Owen Stephenson, a third-year student, said he thinks there should be increased transparency in the process and more direct updates to students.

“You make a lot of connections, and the University places a lot of emphasis on that part of your experience. A lot of the interface for most of that connection for me has been via email,” Stephenson said. “I take pride in being here and being a part of the University of Minnesota, so I was looking forward to having that stamp that I carry with me.”

The regent nomination joint committee at the Minnesota Legislature voted on University of Minnesota Board of Regents candidates to recommend to members in the House of Representatives and the Senate. 

In the committee’s meeting at the Minnesota Capitol on Wednesday night, members voted to advance Robyn Gulley, Mary Turner, Regent Tadd Johnson and Penny Wheeler to the joint legislative session, where policymakers from both chambers will vote on regent candidates later this spring.   

The Legislature elected members of the 12-person board through a multi-month process, which includes an interview process through the Regent Candidate Advisory Council (RCAC), a vote in the joint committee and a joint session vote. 

This year, four seats are up for election, Congressional Districts 2, 3, 8 and an at-large seat.

The RCAC, which screens and recommends initial board candidates, recommended 12 applicants to the joint committee in January.  

District 2

District 2 candidates included Gulley, a West St. Paul City Council member, and Dakota County Commissioner Joe Atkins. The committee, which consists of members of the House and Senate, selected Gulley in a 13-6 vote. 

During the pre-vote questions, Atkins urged the committee to vote for Gulley and highlighted the importance of increasing diversity on the board. 

“I have had an opportunity to go to numerous forums with my opponent, Robyn Gulley, and have listened to her responses…I’m gonna tell you something that will probably surprise you — I think you should appoint her,” Atkins said at the meeting. “If you were to ask me who I would vote for if I were sitting on your side of the table, I’d tell you to vote for Robyn.”  

At the meeting, Gulley outlined her goals for the University system and explained how her history with the University has equipped her with institutional knowledge. 

“I have a long history with the University of Minnesota, so this process has been a labor of love for me,” Gulley said. “Through my time with the University, I’ve seen the best that it has to offer…I’ve also observed the ways the University could grow and be better at serving Minnesotans.” 

District 3

In the vote for the District 3 seat, candidates included William Humphries, a Minnesota Five Guys and Crisp & Green franchise owner, and former U.S. Representative for Minnesota Bill Luther. Wheeler, the former CEO of Allina Health, and Turner, the president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, were also candidates for the district. 

The committee voted for Turner in a second round vote between her and Humphries, resulting in a 13-6 vote. 

“I live for the opportunity to serve not only the students, not only the workers, but the people of Minnesota,” Turner said. “I’ve stood with patients and communities as they have fought for their hospitals…and this is what I love to do.”  

District 8

District 8 candidates included current board member Johnson and Susan Cohen, the president of the Center for Regulatory Research. The committee unanimously voted for Johnson. 

“Regents should be servant leaders…As a former professor, I had a front row seat to the struggles that students face,” Johnson said at the meeting. “Their needs versus the needs of the administration must be our highest priority in every decision we make.” 

At-Large

Candidates for the at-large seat included Val Aarsvold, the executive director of Minnesota Future Farmers of America, and former University men’s gymnastics head coach Mike Burns. Other candidates included the University’s Undergraduate Student Body President, Flora Yang, and Rebecca Siekmeier, the former director of the SciTech Internship Program at the Minnesota Technology Association. 

Rep. Samantha Vang (DFL-Brooklyn Center) nominated Wheeler for the at-large seat before the candidate presentations began. 

“I think there’s one candidate who has stood out, and I think she has proven herself to be a good leader and can take the U of M to where we would like to go,” Vang said at the meeting. “I would like to nominate Penny Wheeler.” 

The committee selected Wheeler in a second round vote between her and Aarsvold, winning the vote 13-6. 

“I know it’s a meaningful role, I have a love for the land grant history of the University and its mission to serve all,” Wheeler said at the meeting. “I will promise to use my passion and experience to serve the students, this incredible institution and the state with all I have.” 

Although the committee’s recommendations will be presented to legislators at the joint session later this spring, policymakers can introduce alternative candidates on the chamber floor before the vote.

Gallery|6 Photos

District 2 candidate Joe Atkins. Photo courtesy of Atkins.

This spring, the Minnesota Legislature will be electing candidates to fill four open seats on the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents.

In January, the Regent Candidate Advisory Council (RCAC) at the Legislature recommended 12 candidates to move on to the regent nomination joint committee for the next step in the selection process. The joint committee, composed of representatives and senators from the higher education budget and policy divisions, will choose candidates to recommend to state lawmakers during the joint vote session.

The deadline for the joint committee to make their recommendations to the Legislature is Tuesday.

There are four seats up this year: Congressional Districts 2, 3 and 8 and an at-large seat.

Six candidates for the Districts 2 and 3 positions answered questions from the Minnesota Daily about their campaigns for the board and how they intend to serve as regents if elected.

District 2 (Joe Atkins and Robyn Gulley)

After completing his undergraduate education at the University and receiving his law degree from Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Joe Atkins served as the mayor of Inver Grove Heights and a DFL state representative. As a state policymaker, he helped pass legislation involving the University and students throughout Minnesota. He is currently in his seventh year as a Dakota County commissioner.

Also running for District 2 is University alum Robyn Gulley. She received a master’s in public policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. In 2018, Gulley founded New Brookwood Labor College, which provides education to address racial, economic and social imbalances of power. She currently serves on the West St. Paul City Council and co-chairs Local Progress Minnesota, an organization of elected officials throughout the state who share policy ideas and outcomes.

District 3 (William Humphries, Bill Luther, Mary Turner and Penny Wheeler)

William Humphries came to the University in 1978 to play football. After graduating with his bachelor’s, he worked in sales and as a stockbroker. Since 2009, Humphries has been an operating partner for his franchise group, which includes several Five Guys and Crisp and Green locations. He has served on multiple boards, including “M” Club, Camp Friendship and the NBA’s Fathers Association. Humphries is the father of former Gopher and NBA player Kris Humphries.

After earning his undergraduate degree and legal education from the University, Bill Luther worked as an attorney and started his own law firm. He served in both the Minnesota House and Senate as a DFL legislator and was the Senate’s assistant majority leader for a decade. In 1994, Luther was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he sat on the Committee on Science and the Commerce Committee. He currently serves on the board of the national Office of Congressional Ethics.

Mary Turner is the president of the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) and has served a variety of other roles in the organization. She is currently an ICU nurse at North Memorial Medical Center and previously worked at Abbott Northwestern Hospital for 10 years. Turner was selected by President Joe Biden to serve on his COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force in 2021 and currently serves on the board of Isuroon, an organization that works to improve health and economic outcomes for Somali women and girls.

Penny Wheeler was the first female CEO of Allina Health and received both her bachelor’s and medical degrees from the University. She worked as an obstetrician and gynecologist with Women’s Health Consultants and at Abbott Northwestern Hospital for nearly 30 years. Wheeler has served on multiple governing boards, including the University of Minnesota Foundation Board.

Why are you running for the University of Minnesota Board of Regents?

Atkins: “I was the first generation on my mom’s side ever to go to college, let alone graduate, and it made a huge difference in my life. As a legislator, I carried a number of bills on behalf of the University. I have a great affinity for it [the University], but frankly, my message is one of tough love. It seems like the board has engaged in or experienced one preventable headache after another, and I believe that greater public engagement and greater relationships could help be a solution.”

Gulley: “I’ve had a strong relationship with the University for a long time. I started there as a graduate student in 2006 and I did my master’s of public policy at the Humphrey School. It was a life changing experience in a lot of ways. When I think about the University…it’s our land grant institution; it is the place where we should be educating the folks who want to make a difference in Minnesota. I think we need to create more pathways for folks to get involved and more ways for people to see themselves in the University.”

Humphries: “As a former Black football player, I always felt that there was no one that I could identify with within the athletic department. We as Black stakeholders are overrepresented in the revenue-production [of] sports but are underrepresented in decision-making positions. I aspire to access and equity in important roles at the University, where decisions are made. I also want to push for accountability and transparency within the University administration and the Board of Regents.”

Luther: “I am a two-time graduate of the University, and I am at a point in my career where I want to use my expertise from my life to benefit the University. In Congress, I gained insight on rising tuition for students, and it has been a long-term concern of mine.”

Turner: “My hobby is advocating for my patients and the people of Minnesota. Students are under the same umbrella as my nurses, and being a regent would fall in line with what I love to do.”

Wheeler: “Because of the passion and commitment I have to this institution. I’m a triple Gopher and I’ve always stayed connected, whether it’s chairing a team, talking to a student group, teaching or doing a commencement speech. I have tremendous gratitude for this institution and the life it gave me.”

How would your background experience help you as a regent?

Atkins: “Not that every regent should be a former member of the legislature, but it sure helps to have one. There is a desperate need for greater communication with legislators and just greater communication generally with the public. It’s important to spend as much time in classrooms and lunch rooms and hearing rooms at the Capitol as it is to spend in the boardroom at the University.”

Gulley: “I have a long history with the University. I was there for more than a decade as a student and then in a number of different roles. I’ve also worked in other kinds of educational institutions where I’ve seen different ways that we can create accessibility and create pathways for people who want to learn.”

Humphries: “As the past president of the letterwinners club at the University, I was instrumental in making some sweeping changes for our members. Under my direction, we created a joint ‘M’ Club for both men and women letterwinners and awarded varsity letters to women who were only recognized as recreational athletes despite officially representing the University. I also have an extensive background in financial matters as a former financial advisor and current business owner of Crisp and Green, Five Guys and Dave’s Hot Chicken.”

Luther: “I’ve had 20 years at the Minnesota Legislature and eight years in Congress. It prepares you for challenging positions that are put before you. We need regents who are willing to ask tough questions of policy questions put before them.”

Turner: “I haven’t been on as many boards as my competitors, but I have traveled from one end of Minnesota to the other and talked to people in both the metro and rural areas…I know what our responsibilities are as board members.”

Wheeler: “The experience of leading a large, complex organization and the challenges that that presents will help me with this. As you lead, you understand that at the end of the day, it’s who you’re serving and why. Having been in a position to make those difficult choices helps me, and I’ve been committed to people who have been left behind traditionally…A land-grant university is meant to serve all.”

If you are elected, what values would you like to implement into your governance style?

Atkins: “Every decision I would make would be surrounded by the issue or the question of what’s best for students, and then the derivative of that is what’s best for the employees that enable those students to have a good experience. So that makes the decision-making fairly straightforward.”

Gulley: “One of the things that I have experienced over and over at the University is that the regents are not accessible. I would like to see that change. One of the most basic things that we could do would be to have a public comment session. Dissent is a powerful way for people to be engaged and to show that they care about things and that it’s not a dangerous dynamic…it’s actually really important to hear that from people and it invites a conversation.”

Humphries: “My governance style is a result of growing up in a 15-member family, whereas I was number nine. I learned to work with both my elder and younger siblings to bring about results that benefited both. I think there can be winners on both sides, all it requires is some give and take. I like to collaborate with others who may have a different viewpoint. This is how I govern my various business interests.”

Luther: “There needs to be more accountability and input from stakeholders. When you serve in an elected office, you get tons of input on a regular basis and I’d like to see much more of that, or it [the board] becomes too isolated. I want to make it better than it is.”

Turner: “Regents are elected and then never seen or heard from again. My dream would be to be recognized by students. I am not big on having a big stack of information placed in front of me…There are seven sides to every story and having open communication with students is important.”

Wheeler: “Openness to being able to listen and learn about what the real challenges are. They always talk about leaders having thick skin. I’d say leaders should have thin skin to try to deeply understand what people are feeling. Openness, humility and courage are the things I’d like to bring as values into the role, those are the things that matter most to me.”

If you are elected, how do you plan to connect with students, faculty and staff members at the University?

Atkins: “I have a history of performance, not promises, and connecting with people. I’m now on my 104th meeting as an elected official, and I’d like to bring that to the University. There should be public comment, hearings and listening sessions held with students and stakeholders as well as getting out of the boardroom and heading to the classrooms and hearing rooms.”

Gulley: “ I would love to see a public comment session where people can come in and say the things that they need to say to the regents, but I think there has to be more than that. One thing that makes a big difference in City Council are council recap videos. That kind of opportunity to talk about what’s happening in these meetings really matters, and I don’t remember ever having a sense of what the regents were actually talking about from month to month.”

Humphries: “There are several ways to connect. The use of social media, email blasts and my preferred method of meeting in person. We can do that by creating focus groups and roundtables in hopes that all will get an opportunity to voice their concerns.”

Luther: “Having open mic sessions would be very helpful as well as making yourself available in other ways at the University so students have an opportunity to have some say in the decisions impacting them. I don’t see these opportunities yet. Some of the decisions that are being made…you raise questions in your mind about how much input is being obtained from students.”

Turner: “I am already building a repertoire of people to talk to and will actively communicate with representatives from all of the campuses to stay informed.”

Wheeler: “I would try to use individual conversations, relationships, forums and comment periods to learn more. I just learned of surveys that have been conducted for the student body looking at all those different inputs to see if you can understand better the issues and the challenges and the voices of those who we serve.”

Candidate answers have been edited for style, clarity and length.

Gallery|6 Photos

Regent and District 9 candidate Tadd Johnson. Photo courtesy of Johnson.

This spring, the Minnesota State Legislature will be electing candidates to fill four open seats on the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents.

In January, the Regent Candidate Advisory Council (RCAC) at the Minnesota Legislature recommended 12 candidates to move on to the regent nomination joint committee for the next step in the selection process. The joint committee, composed of representatives and senators from the higher education budget and policy divisions, will choose candidates to recommend to state lawmakers during the joint vote session.

There are four seats up this year: Congressional Districts 2, 3 and 8 and an at-large seat.

Six candidates for the District 8 and at-large positions answered questions from the Minnesota Daily about their campaigns for the board and how they intend to serve as regents if they are elected.

District 8 (Susan Cohen and Tadd Johnson)

Susan Cohen is the president and founder of the Center for Regulatory Research, which provides regulatory support for businesses that deal with agricultural technologies. Cohen also worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (USDA APHIS) as a plant pathologist.

Gov. Tim Walz appointed the current regent for the district, Tadd Johnson, in 2022 after former regent David McMillan became the interim chancellor of the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD).

Johnson served as the first senior director of American Indian Tribal Nations Relations at the University. Prior to this role, he joined the American Indian Studies Department at UMD and served as director of the Tribal Sovereignty Institute. Johnson holds a law degree from the University’s Law School and served as a Tribal attorney for more than 35 years.

At-Large (Val Aarsvold, Mike Burns, Rebecca Siekmeier and Flora Yang)

After finishing her undergraduate education at the University, Val Aarsvold taught in Wilmar and Plainview public schools for seven years. In 2001, she became the executive director of the Minnesota Future Farmers of America (FFA), where she currently helps support more than 40,000 students across the state in preparing for futures in agriculture, food and natural resources. Aarsvold is also a member of the University Alumni Association and was a finalist for the First Congressional District seat in 2021 but lost to Regent Ruth Johnson.

Before running for the board, Mike Burns was the University’s men’s gymnastics head coach for 17 years, until the program was eliminated in 2021. Prior to coaching at the University, Burns coached at other schools, including the University of Iowa and the University of Michigan. Burns currently coaches the University’s club gymnastics team.

Rebecca Siekmeier served as the director of the SciTech Internship Program at the Minnesota Technology Association, where she helps connect students to internships and jobs in the STEM field. Siekmeier attended the University as an undergrad and received a scholarship for being on the University’s women’s track and field team. She later returned to earn a master’s degree in public affairs.

Since middle school, Flora Yang has taken classes at the University and is currently a senior. Yang was elected the undergraduate student body president in 2022 and has helped lead multiple student advocacy efforts. Last year, she served as the ex-officio student representative to the board. After graduating in May, Yang will attend the University’s Medical School with a focus on the rural health pathway.

Why are you running for the University of Minnesota Board of Regents?

Cohen: “They [regents] have a big impact on students and education at all levels…as I went through college, I had to work my entire way through it. I am sensitive to students and want to be sure the regents understand and evaluate all options.”

Johnson: “I have been preparing for this my whole life…I’ve spent a lot of time being heavily engaged at the Legislature and have taught the U [University] how to do outreach to Tribes.”

Aarsvold: “I feel their [students’] stress; the system needs to support them as well…we owe it to them to make it a part of our focus. My own children were at the University when I ran [for the board] two years ago, and I recognize the way I can continue to address the needs of students.”

Burns: “My justification for putting my name in a position to the Board of Regents isn’t because I’m the upset coach that lost his programming. For the last 17 years that I was an employee, it was really easy to sell this place, and I feel like it’s getting harder and harder to do that. I think it’s based on some of the decisions that have been made at the Board of Regents.”

Siekmeier: “The trajectory of my life changed in extraordinary ways when I became an undergraduate student athlete on the women’s track and field team at the University of Minnesota in the fall of 1981. I’ve been a volunteer, donor and supporter of the University for decades, and it would be a tremendous honor to give back as a member of the Board of Regents, helping other students reach their full potential.”

Yang: “As the ranking student representative to the Board of Regents last year, I saw a lot of the gaps in transparency and accountability within the board. Some of these gaps were, frankly, not super hard to fix. I have a lot of thoughts as to how we can re-envision or reform the Board of Regents system and how we interact with constituents.”

How would your background experience help you as a UMN regent?

Cohen: “I have worked with USDA APHIS and dealt with multiple stakeholders in crafting policies. I have also worked with a diversity of people…I know you need to have broad perspectives and bring some additional exposure in decisions.”

Johnson: “I’ve learned how to deal with a lot of people, including over 5,000 state employees. This process of becoming a regent has given me a whole different perspective of what people are expecting of the board, which is more transparency. Having taught for 10 years, I think I have a better understanding of what the students need.”

Aarsvold: “I have dedicated a lot of years to education, it’s useful to have an educator’s perspective and have the value that students come first.”

Burns: “Whether you’re teaching physics or coaching gymnastics, it’s all about taking somebody from where they’re at and bringing them to a higher level. And I think I have a long history of doing that.”

Siekmeier: “My background in workforce development has crystallized how critical hands-on work experience, marketable skills and a good education are for students to bridge the gap between classroom and career. I’m committed to leveraging my background in workforce development and governance experience to help the University set graduation and placement goals that will help students find career success in livable wage jobs.”

Yang: “I will be the first to say that I do not have 40 years of experience in governance, but that is honestly my greatest strength. As someone who is part of the day-to-day life of being a student, hopefully I can bring those perspectives to the board as they’re making those decisions.”

If you are elected, what values would you like to implement into your own governance style?

Cohen: “I don’t make decisions quickly. Just as a scientist would, I collect the information and talk to both sides. Regents are acting internally and may not be aware of policy.”

Johnson: “Talking to students has become an invaluable part in how I look at governance at the University. Students’ needs are number one. Faculty and staff also deserve to be heard and what we aren’t doing well right now is letting the outside world in.”

Aarsvold: “Everyone deserves to be heard. I was surprised that there are not a lot of opportunities for people to be heard by the board. Students, faculty and frontline workers should have a voice in decisions that will impact them.”

Burns: “I have a few core values that I try to live my day-to-day life by, and they are passion, purpose, positivity and enthusiasm. I want to laugh out loud once a day, and I want to make somebody else do the same. It’s really easy to look at a situation and see all the bad things that are surrounding it. But I decided not to do that. I like to think that every situation has more positives than negatives to it.”

Siekmeier: “Diversity, equity and inclusion are a foundation, a way of thinking, acting and being that I will bring to my role as a regent. Actively listening to students, staff and other stakeholders impacted by decisions facing the board is also important.”

Yang: “The framework we need to keep in mind for all decisions is transparency and accountability. We also need to prioritize students and student perspectives. Everyone’s talking about how the University is for the students, but there’s no student consultation in the process. I really want to engage in dialogue with the current regents and the newly elected ones to be able to facilitate those forms of discussion.”

If you are elected, how do you plan to connect with students, faculty and staff members at the University?

Cohen: “I already have connections working with the APHIS and the Department of Plant Pathology on campus. I want to expand my knowledge on the greater [Minnesota] campuses and have more discussion with them. A good regent is one that goes out and says ‘I want to talk to you.’”

Johnson: “I have already met with students and leaders across the University system campuses, including at Morris and Rochester. The greatest ideas come from the students, faculty and staff who are out there in the University world.”

Aarsvold: “I’ve always tried to listen to shareholders. I have a background in agriculture so my knowledge is in the rural side…I would love rural students to see it [the University] as a viable option. I would connect through going to organizations and events that are being held to talk with students and attend meetings across the state.”

Burns: “I’ve already started that process. [I’ve] met with a couple of faculty members, I’ve had some conversations with UMPD [University of Minnesota Police Department] members and want to go along for the ride on a ride along with my good friend Officer Betts. I’m in the gym every day with students and I’m on campus every day. I probably have one of the most unique perspectives of any candidate, with the exception of Flora Yang.”

Siekmeier: “Through the SciTech Internship Program, I partnered with student groups, faculty and staff to provide program information, organize job search workshops and cosponsor events. I am committed to an open-door policy, responding to inquiries, advocating for public comment time at board meetings and reaching out for input from stakeholders impacted by board decisions.”

Yang: “Student voices are really

important and need to be prioritized. I’m honored that I am trusted to be in this role.The Board of Regents has power only because the constituents of the state of Minnesota, just like how I’m a student body president…the only reason that I have this power is because students elected me to be in this role. We really need to have more consultation and just be more open to listening and be able to empathize with that and them [students] and come up with cohesive, long-term strategic planning into how we can implement those suggestions into the University system.”

Candidate answers have been edited for style, clarity and length.

At the beginning of the spring semester, University of Minnesota English professor Elizabeth Weixel said she noticed something off about a Canvas discussion post in one of her classes. It was more robotic than the other students’ responses, leading her to suspect the use of a new program that has had many instructors nationwide up-in-arms: ChatGPT.

In November 2022, artificial intelligence (AI) research and development company OpenAI released a chatbot service called ChatGPT. The bot can formulate coherent responses from user-provided prompts. It has the ability to complete almost any task it is asked, from debugging code to writing poetry.

Since then, many universities have begun to address academic dishonesty that has stemmed from students using the bot to complete assignments and exams. Some schools, like the University of Florida, are implementing policies to phase out the use of ChatGPT by holding written exams in class, while others are integrating it into coursework.

Administrators emphasize opportunity
At the University, administrators are still developing plans to address the use of AI in academics.

Kenneth Leopold, chair of the University’s Student Academic Integrity Committee, said although the issue has popped up quickly, the committee will talk with experts at their meetings this semester. Since the end of last semester, University community members have been emailing Leopold with concerns about the potential impacts of ChatGPT.

“At this point, I think it’s too early to articulate policy,” Leopold said in an email to the Minnesota Daily. “Having spoken with people both at the U and at other universities, my general impression is that, while there is certainly some angst about academic integrity, there is also a sense of opportunity in that this technology — if used appropriately — could enhance education.”

Following national trends, many University students have been using ChatGPT for school work and other tasks. In a Minnesota Daily survey sent out to the University student body, more than half of the 179 respondents said they have used the chatbot service before.

With ChatGPT’s long-term impacts ahead, determining its use in academics is still a gray area. Leopold said he recommends students have open and honest conversations with their instructors to determine whether they should use it in their coursework.

While students can use it to cheat on assignments and exams, there are a variety of ways students use ChatGPT, including researching, brainstorming, coding and preparing for job interviews. According to the survey, only about one-fifth of respondents have used the bot to complete school work.

Academic dishonesty policies at the University vary depending on the school and can range from a student failing a class to being expelled.

‘A lot of heartburn’ for instructors
Professors are grappling with how to address student use of ChatGPT in coursework due to its virtually instantaneous arrival to academia. Some instructors are cracking down on students when they suspect the use of a chatbot, but Weixel said she wants to take a different approach.

“It’s bigger than what we’ve seen and considered as traditional cheating,” Weixel said. “I’m trying to wrestle myself with wanting to discourage it. We want to hear students’ own words, but I don’t want to make the assumption that there is always malicious cheating.”

Weixel said she is aware some students will use ChatGPT to cheat on assignments, but she knows AI use is gaining traction and would like to integrate its idea-generating abilities into some class assignments.

According to the survey, about one-fourth of respondents think using ChatGPT on school work is not considered cheating, while more than half responded that it depends on the circumstances.

Jim Hall, an instructor in the University’s Department of Writing Studies, said he recognizes the dilemma teachers are facing with ChatGPT. He said he accepts student use of chatbots to assist in brainstorming, but simply copying and pasting content written by the service is plagiarism.

“It’s causing a lot of heartburn for instructors,” Hall said. “The technology has changed, but the ethics have not.”

After he first heard about ChatGPT in November, Hall said he wanted to test its abilities by using it to write a book. He said it only took him a few hours to write a book on FORTRAN77, a type of coding language. Although it got a few things wrong, he said he found that its strong suit is writing in short bursts.

Some instructors and students are apprehensive about using ChatGPT, viewing it as a threat to human intelligence. Chatbots are capable of a lot, but they have proven themselves to be imperfect. In a recent study, University Law School professors ran an experiment in which they compared the performance of ChatGPT in classwork to other students. The bot received a C-minus.

There are still many unknown implications and uses of ChatGPT, but learning more about AI can benefit students as they prepare to enter a workforce, where they may use these services, according to Leopold.

“People are recognizing that in a few years, students will be using artificial intelligence in their jobs, and it is in their interest for us to give them the experience of using it wisely, effectively and in a manner consistent with the principles of academic integrity,” Leopold said..

In the meantime, instructors and students will have to create dialogues around ChatGPT use in classes, according to Weixel.

“This tool is here and it’s not going anywhere,” Weixel said. “I’m trying to tread a balance of how do we use it, and how do we discourage cheating.”

Candidates for the University of Minnesota Board of Regents answered questions about their plans to address important University issues at a forum Tuesday night held at the Minnesota Capitol.

During every regent election, the University Alumni Association holds an event for attendees to ask board candidates about how they plan to represent the University if elected. A common thread among the candidates this year was the desire to increase the board’s transparency, accessibility and focus on University students.

In January, the Regent Candidate Advisory Council (RCAC) at the Minnesota Legislature recommended 12 candidates to move on to the regent nomination joint committee for the next step in the selection process. The joint committee, composed of representatives and senators from the higher education budget and policy divisions, will choose candidates to recommend to state lawmakers during the joint vote session.

There are currently four seats up for reelection, including Congressional Districts 2, 3 and 8. There is also one at-large seat up this year.

Candidates for District 2 include Dakota County Commissioner and former DFL state representative Joe Atkins and West St. Paul City Council Member Robyn Gulley.

District 3 candidates include Allina Health President Penny Wheeler, Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) President Mary Turner and former DFL state representative Bill Luther. Minnesota Five Guys franchise owner, William Humphries, who is also running for District 3, was not present due to a conflict.

The President of the Center for Regulatory Research, Susan Cohen, and current Regent Tadd Johnson are the District 8 candidates.

The candidates for the at-large seat are the University’s Undergraduate Student Government president, Flora Yang, the Minnesota Future Farmers of America Foundation’s executive director, Val Aarsvold, and the University’s former men’s gymnastics coach Mike Burns. Program Director at the Minnesota Technology Association Rebecca Siekmeier is also an at-large candidate.

At the forum, each candidate had 30 seconds to answer questions submitted by attendees. Subjects ranged from strengthening diversity across the University system to increasing tuition costs.

Diversity, equity and inclusion
When asked about how they plan to strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion at the University, many candidates said they would expand outreach within the University community and consider multiple viewpoints in the process.

Humphries said in a prewritten statement that increasing diversity on the board itself is important to best address this issue.

“As a Black man from Detroit, I am the recipient of many decisions made that impact minorities, but we are seldom in the room when decisions are made,” Humphries said. “If our Board of Regents resembled our stakeholders, our road to diversity, equity and inclusion would give everybody a sense of belonging at the University of Minnesota.”

Tuition increases
The candidates were asked how they feel about raising tuition, and many agreed that it should be used as a last-resort solution to budget cuts.

Each year, the University president presents their proposed budget to the board, which includes any increases in tuition. The board votes whether to approve the budget in June. In 2022, the board voted to approve a 3.5% tuition increase.

Tuition could increase another 3.5% or more on the Twin Cities campus for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years. This is partially dependent on how much money the Legislature allocates to the University.

“Tuition honestly has to be the last thing that is increased,” Yang said. “The negative tuition accountability cycle, we need to step out of that right now to ensure that college is affordable for students.”

The Legislature’s regent nomination joint committee must meet by Feb. 28 to discuss candidate nominations to deliver to lawmakers.

Public accessibility to the board
Another question from the audience asked how the candidates plan to incorporate input from the community and stakeholders into their decision making.

Turner touched on making the board open to public comment, similar to the MNA’s meeting structure. Many public university governance boards also include public comment opportunities. The University’s board only accepts public comments through requests the board chair approves or during a one-hour slot at the annual budget forum in May.

“This would give an opportunity for legislators, students, workers, anyone who needs to have a voice to be heard at this time,” Turner said.

The University of Minnesota announced new additions to commencement for students graduating this spring in an email on Tuesday, following previous criticism from the plan announced in the fall. 

Last October, the University announced that due to renovations at Mariucci Arena, where commencement ceremonies are usually held, most college-specific graduations will be combined into a joint ceremony at Huntington Bank Stadium. Due to the thousands of graduating seniors, students won’t walk on stage to receive their diplomas during this ceremony. 

After receiving criticism from students and families about the ceremony being less personal for graduates as in past years, the University created additional ways to celebrate.

The University worked with students, faculty, alumni and families to find a solution to these concerns, according to University Provost Rachel Croson. Along with the conferral ceremony at Huntington, the University will provide opportunities for students to receive their diplomas on stage, choose who they walk with and participate in graduation virtually. 

On Feb. 16, graduating students will receive an email to register for the joint conferral ceremony and a stage crossing ceremony. During the stage crossings, students will have their names announced, cross the stage and be congratulated.

In the next few weeks, the University will announce stage-crossing time slots. Stage-crossings will take place at the RecWell Field House and Coffman Union during various times from May 11 through May 13. 

“This announcement is really about the conferral ceremonies, but also about those stage crossing opportunities, which were designed so that people could have their family there in a front row seat, not way up in the bleachers,” Croson said. 

The combined conferral ceremonies will take place on May 12 at 5 p.m. for graduate students and on May 13 at 1 p.m. for undergraduate students. 

Individual colleges and schools will contact students with details on their specialized ceremonies. 

University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel responded to various calls for her to step down from the Securian Financial Board of Directors by announcing her resignation from the board on Monday.

The president’s position with Securian was initially brought to the public’s attention at a University Board of Regents meeting on Dec. 16, where the members voted 9-3 to accept her conflict of interest management plan, which allowed her to accept the position. If Gabel had continued on Securian’s board, the company would have offered her $130,000 per year. In her letter of resignation, Gabel stated she waived the compensation.

Since then, many University community members –– including the three regents who voted against the plan –– expressed concern over the ethics of Gabel being paid by a University contracted company.

“This relationship here creates a chilling effect … despite the recusal,” Regent Darrin Rosh said at the December meeting. Rosha was one of the three regents who voted against the conflict of interest management plan.

The University contracts with Securian to oversee life insurance policies for University employees and has an annual contract renewal that the president is involved in. In 2019, Gabel played a role in approving a $27-million-a-year contract with Securian affiliate Minnesota Life.

“We respect the decision Joan Gabel made to step down from the Securian Financial Board of Directors. This was her personal decision, and we honor it,” Securian Financial spokesperson Jeff Bakken said in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

The review of the conflict management plan was added to the board’s meeting docket just days before their vote. In an interview with the Daily, Rosha said it was the first time he heard of Gabel’s potential position, despite other board members knowing about it since November.

Other regents stated they saw no issue with the president’s position at Securian, including that it would benefit the institution in terms of broadening University connections.

“The experience will actually make her [Gabel] a better president just from watching the executive function at another organization,” Board Chair Kendall Powell, who voted to approve the plan, said at the December meeting. “The conflict that we have here is easily managed through the proposal.”

Powell did not respond to the Daily’s request for an interview.

Rosha sent a request to his fellow board members on Jan. 14 to revisit Gabel’s Securian appointment. In his letter to the other regents, he cited a Minnesota statute that prohibits parties that have contracts with the University from reimbursing staff members who take part in the renewal process.

Gabel resigned before Rosha’s proposed meeting date of Jan. 25, so the board did not hold a special meeting, but he said he still believes the board should discuss the conflicts of interest within the University’s conflict of interest review panel.

Critiquing the process
The University’s conflict of interest management panel is made up of University staff members. They review potential conflicts of interest in situations across the institution, from research to administrative position conflicts like Gabel’s. Many people have expressed concerns the panel faces their own conflicts of interest when deciding on positions of the administrators who oversee them.

“We did not receive guidance from our general counsel on this matter, and we did not even receive guidance with respect to the conflict resolution panel,” Rosha said. “They cannot create the plan for someone they work for without having their own conflict.”

In this case, some critics stated that most of the panel members fall under Gabel in the University’s hierarchy.

“Most of the folks on the panel ultimately are under the umbrella of the president,” Regent James Farnsworth, who voted against the management plan, said. “I don’t think you could have a truly objective conflict review panel when you have that in place.”

Minnesota state Sen. John Marty (DFL-St. Paul) spoke out against the board’s approval in a letter sent to Gabel and University regents on Jan. 2. In it, he asked Gabel to resign from Securian and urged board members to look closer at items that University administration puts in front of them before voting.

Despite Gabel’s resignation, Marty said he believes there are still conflict of interest issues at play exposed by the president originally taking the Securian position.

“To me, she damaged her relationship with the U, permanently … there was no apology or acknowledgment that anything went wrong,” Marty said. “I am disappointed at the board. They seem to be rubber-stamping everything now.”

University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel announced her resignation from the Securian Financial Board of Directors late Monday in a letter to the Board of Regents leadership. 

This announcement comes more than a month after the board voted to approve a conflict of interest management plan at their Dec. 16 meeting, which green-lit Gabel’s position at Securian. The plan passed 9-3 with some members expressing ethical concerns and possible conflicts of interest. 

The position offered an annual salary of $130,000. Gabel stated in the letter Monday that she waived the compensation and had not received benefits yet from Securian. 

The University currently has a $4.6 million contract with a Securian affiliate, Minnesota Life, to oversee employee life insurance. Gabel plays a role in contract renewal decisions with the company and would have a say in direct financial relationships between the University and Securian. 

“The last several weeks have been extremely painful for me and, I’m sure, very uncomfortable for you,” Gabel said in her resignation letter. “Out of respect for the institution and to eliminate any further distraction of our work, with a heavy heart, I will be resigning my Securian Financial directorship effective immediately.

Minnesota state Sen. John Marty (DFL-St. Paul) asked Gabel to step down from the Securian position in a letter on Jan. 2 stating that it created a conflict of interest. 

On Jan. 14, Regent Darrin Rosha sent a request to fellow board members to meet for a special board meeting to reconsider Gabel’s role at Securian had she not resigned. Rosha cited a Minnesota statute, which prohibits parties that have contracts with the University from reimbursing staff members who take part in the renewal process. 

“We find it to be a decision that serves the public interest and reaffirms the President’s unwavering commitment to advance the mission of the University of Minnesota,” the board said in a statement on Monday. 

Students have also pushed back against Gabel’s appointment, including University Council of Graduate Students member Emily Kurtz. In a letter to the regents on Saturday, she urged the board to reconsider Gabel’s Securian position. 

“Beyond the blatant conflict of interest, we doubt she can do her job as well as she should when part of her working time will be dedicated to a group that is not the University,” Kurtz said in the letter. “The president already makes over a million dollars when all compensation is added up, and the average grad student makes just short of $20,000.” 

During the most recent step in this year’s University of Minnesota Board of Regents election, the Regent Candidate Advisory Council (RCAC) voted Jan. 13 on which candidates will move to the next stage in the selection process.

The candidates to fill the four Board seats up for reelection this year will be selected in a joint vote in the Legislature before the end of the session this spring.

The RCAC’s most recent vote will move several applicants to the regent nomination joint committee composed of representatives and senators from the higher education budget and policy divisions. This separate committee votes on which candidates will be recommended to state lawmakers during the joint session vote.

The council recommended 12 of the 18 applicants to be considered in the joint committee. Although these names will be brought to the joint committee, the RCAC’s recommendations do not have to be followed and other candidates can be considered throughout the election process.

Regents Steve Sviggum and Darrin Rosha, from Congressional Districts 2 and 3 respectively, are not running for reelection, while Regent Tadd Johnson, District 8, and Board Chair Kendall Powell, who fills one of the at-large seats on the board, had hoped to retain their positions.

Four candidates moved forward for the at-large seat, including the University’s Undergraduate Student Government president, Flora Yang, and the Minnesota Future Farmers of America Foundation’s executive director, Val Aarsvold. The other candidates are Program Director Rebecca Siekmeier at the Minnesota Technology Association and the University’s former men’s gymnastics coach Mike Burns.

The candidates who did not receive enough votes for the at-large seat include Powell and former regent Michael Hsu. The council selected Yang over Hsu in the final vote.

Many committee members expressed concern about recent controversies related to the Board, including the comments made by Sviggum at an October Board meeting that questioned the diversity of the student body at the University’s Morris campus.

“The comments made by Sviggum and Chair Powell and no comment from the president really was a dark point in this process,” council member Edward Reynoso said during the vote session. “Moving forward a student candidate to have a true voice for students is something that is going to engage them more in this process.”

The council recommended both Dakota County Commissioner Joe Atkins and West St. Paul City Councillor Robyn Gulley for the District 2 seat. University law professor Richard Painter did not receive enough votes after council members expressed concern about whether he would resign from his professor position if elected to the Board.

All candidates for District 3 were sent through, including William Humphries, owner of a handful of Minnesota’s Five Guys franchises, and former United States representative Bill Luther. Allina Health President Penny Wheeler and President of the Minnesota Nurses Association Mary Turner were also recommended.

Both Johnson and Susan Cohen, president of the Center for Regulatory Research, received the council’s recommendation for the District 8 seat. Gov. Tim Walz appointed Johnson to the Board last year to fill David McMillian’s vacancy when he stepped down to become the interim chancellor of the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

The candidates will take part in another public interview at the University of Minnesota Alumni Association’s public regent candidate forum on Jan. 31 at the Minnesota Capitol.