The Western Michigan University Board of Trustees made appointments, welcomed a new member and faced a controversy at its first meeting of 2015 Thursday.
Members approved trustee Ken Miller’s appointment as the Board’s new vice chair. Other offices did not change. This was Jeffrey Rinvelt’s first meeting as a board member. Governor Rick Snyder appointed him to replace Jeanne Carlson, whose term expired in December.
The trustees heard an update on the recently opened Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine. Founding Dean Hal Jenson observed that the school’s pathology department now serves as the medical examiner’s office for four counties.
"The Kalamazoo County medical examiner’s office used to be in Lansing. And now it’s here in Kalamazoo County. And that’s a real plus for the citizens of Kalamazoo, law enforcement, and I think it’s a really nice addition that the medical school’s been able to contribute to," he said.
The Board approved a change to the medical school’s lease. That will allow the school to use two currently empty floors for research.
The meeting was moved to a larger room to accommodate supporters of College of Arts and Sciences Dean Alex Enyedi. WMU Provost Tim Greene recently declined to reappoint Enyedi to the deanship. Faculty representative Lisa Minnick called on the Board to “reverse” the decision. The trustees did not act on the request.
