A contentious University of Minnesota Board of Regents meeting Friday morning capped off a chaotic week on the Twin Cities campus, complete with a Department of Education reminder, a closed-door meeting on letters from the Departments of Justice and Education, and trying to improve a failing grade from the ADL.
Friday morning’s meeting was often interrupted by protestors who opposed a policy that the regents approved, stating that “individual Institutional statements addressing matters of public concern or public interest are not permitted at the University unless determined by the President to have an actual or potential impact on the mission and operations of the University.”
“This resolution stands for the proposition that the university is a place where academic freedom is a core value of the university, even when the scholarship of our experts enters contested spaces or addresses controversial topics,” Regents Chair Janie Mayeron said. “But the resolution also seeks to clarify that institutional speech statements on behalf of the university, its departments and units which are shared on official university communications or channels or uses our university marks must focus exclusively on the mission and operations of the university. This resolution is a reasonable and responsible guardrail that does not infringe on any individual’s academic freedom or their freedom of speech.”
The resolution ultimately passed 9-3, with Regents Robyn Gulley, Bo Thao-Urabe and Mary Turner voting against. Thao-Urabe had a motion to table the resolution so the board could get more feedback, but it was voted down. The vote appeared to be the same 9-3 margin, but protesters shouted down those who didn’t back delaying the vote.
The task force on institutional speech was formed by then-Interim President Jeffrey Ettinger and Provost Rachel Croson in May 2024. The task force was charged with developing policies relating to “institutional statements on matters of public concern,” prompted by the posting of statements from some academic departments on official websites after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The shouts of the protestors were audible on the livestream of the event, with groups like Students for a Democratic Society and Students for Justice in Palestine arguing on social media that the resolution will “silence academic departments and restrict free expression.”
Regent Mike Kenyanya said there has been instances in his time on the board where academic freedom was under threat and the school has defended it.
“I think there’s no challenge to individual free speech. There’s no challenge to individual academic freedom,” he said. “But at the same time, the institution is not compelled to then endorse and disseminate any views of any content, regardless of the topic, and whether I like it or not.”
The final piece of the resolution will be President Rebecca Cunningham reporting back to the board at the October 2025 meeting detailing how the “guiding principles are being implemented and the impact they are having.”
The meeting went into recess three times during the discussion because of shouts from the people opposing the resolution.
“Its freedom of speech for me but not for thee,” said Ethan Roberts, the deputy executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, of the interruptions. “The Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies statement is still up on their website, and this is why we’re at where we’re at. They took it upon themselves on Oct. 13, 2023 – six days after Hamas filmed themselves committing these atrocities and sharing it with their victims – and the core faculty said to claim what happened is Islamophobia. We’ve seen the atrocities video. We know what happened.
“If professors want to defend Hamas, they can. But the U doesn’t have to disseminate.”
ADL grade reconsideration?
The University of Minnesota is taking the opportunity to provide updated information to try and improve its failing grade in the ADL’s annual report card that was released last week.
In a letter to the University of Minnesota community, Cunningham wrote on Monday that since the report card was issued, she learned that the school did not provide updated information that led to the failing grade.
“We are actively working with the ADL to address this matter and clarify the many actions we have implemented over the past year to prevent and combat antisemitism, which were not reflected in their report card,” Cunningham wrote. “The allegations under investigation and scores on the ADL report card do not reflect our strong systemwide commitment and comprehensive, proactive approach to ensure that everyone feels safe.”
David Goldenberg, the midwest regional director of the ADL, said that his organization started reaching out to the U in early November, with several follow-up communications since then.
“Universities are invited to share if we missed anything or if they had inaccurate information,” he said. “We want everyone to get an A. If we missed something, we want to make sure it’s updated.”
Even with updated information, it doesn’t mean the grade is going to be changed. Iola Kostrezewski, the Minnesota community engagement manager for the ADL, said the change is predicated on things being implemented, not just planned.
“It’s not enough to provide us a wish list,” of things they want to do, Kostrezewski said. “It has to be things they are actively doing that’s meaningful [and] producing results.”
In her letter, Cunningham said that the school is taking part in the Hillel Campus Climate Initiative – the first public acknowledgement from the university that they are taking part in the current cohort.
“As a leadership team and a university, we are strongly committed to enhancing support for members of our community who are Jewish,” Cunningham wrote. “We are in regular communication with Jewish students and faculty groups, who have been advising us to better understand their lived experiences in this time, and augment their experience on campus.”
Minnesota Hillel Executive Director Emily Boskoff said Cunningham’s letter and announcement of taking part in the CCI is “an important step towards making the U a more inclusive, safe space for our students.
“At the same time, we believe – and the campus has acknowledged – that there is more to do in order to support Jewish students’ experience on campus. Together, we want to continue to help make our campus a safer and more welcoming community for Jewish students.”
Goldenberg said participating in the CCI is a step in the right direction.
“The ADL gives detailed best practices on what schools can do, and it’s all online,” he said. “It’s all there to help schools do better and keep Jewish kids safe.”
The letter was released the same day as Students for a Democratic Society alleged in an Instagram post that the students involved in the takeover of Merrill Hall last October had their suspensions “dropped” in favor of restorative justice.
“The dropping of suspensions and restitiutions, as well as the panel finding the protestors not guilty on the majority of the initial Student Code violations, is a huge win for pro-Palestinian student activism,” the statement read in part.
The school said it can’t comment directly on the matter due to federal and state privacy laws.
“While we cannot speak about the status of the University’s disciplinary process in individual cases, even when there are misunderstandings and misrepresentations shared by others, we are strongly committed to addressing misconduct,” the U’s statement read.
New Department of Education letter
The week on campus was kicked off by a new letter from the U.S. Department of Education. The University of Minnesota was one of 60 schools that received a letter from Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, warning them of potential enforcement actions if there are violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities.
The letters were sent to all universities currently being investigated for Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination. The U was notified in early February that it was one of six schools being investigated.
Friday’s Board of Regents meeting was kicked off by going into closed session to discuss communication that had come from both the Department of Education and Department of Justice since the Trump administration took over on Jan. 20, 2025.
As the chair of the Jewish Faculty and Staff Association, the *only* official Jewish faculty and staff group at the University of Minnesota, I can confirm that President Cunningham and her leadership team have not been in regular communication with us. In fact, they haven’t contacted us. Not once.