{"source":"UofMN AI — uofmnai.com/data","count":2,"meetings":[{"meeting":{"videoId":"WwgWmPmzmt4","body":"governance-policy","date":"2026-10-09","title":"October 9, 2026 Governance & Policy Committee, University of Minnesota Board of Regents","video":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwgWmPmzmt4"},"questions":[{"question":"Without the automatic 75-year review, how would questionable building names still get a proactive look, without waiting for someone to petition?","answer":"Through avenues the policy keeps. The president must consider a renaming when the Board asks, and may act on a well-considered written request or on her own initiative; anonymous requests aren't considered. The Honors Committee can bring in outside research, as it did with the Foundation's due-diligence reports for the Weaver renaming. The amendments drop the 75-year expiration and add a duty to consult the Honors Committee before an honorary name becomes a gift name. They're tentatively set to return for action in December.","asked_by":"Regent Kodi Verhalen (committee chair)","ts":680,"clip":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwgWmPmzmt4&t=680s","in_room":"University Senate Office Director Laurie Cooper-Stoll said the Honors Committee can delegate research to outside firms, as it did with Foundation due-diligence reports for the Weaver renaming, and that it discusses proactive ways to solicit names. Professor Tim Johnson said the committee meets four times a year and couldn't get through one of the four buildings due for review in his first year. A Board Office staff member said Section VII still lets the Board ask the president for a review, lets the president act on her own, or lets a well-reasoned request come in. President Cunningham called the 75-year review well-intentioned but not practical.","status":"answered-in-room","our_answer":"Under the draft policy in the docket, the president \"shall consider\" a renaming or revocation at the Board's request, and may consider one on a well-considered written request or on her own initiative. Anonymous proposals aren't considered, and each request covers one asset. The amendments remove the 75-year limit and the retention process, and require the president to consult the Honors Committee before converting an honorary naming to a gift naming. The Honors Committee backed the changes unanimously in May 2026. The committee is tentatively set to act on them Dec. 10–11.","facts":[]},{"question":"Are the trustee-style fiduciary duties, like loyalty, already written into the Board's own rules?","answer":"Yes. The Board's Code of Conduct for Members of the Board of Regents, last amended Feb. 14, 2025, lists three fiduciary duties: care, undivided loyalty to the University as a whole, and obedience to law and mission. The regent who asked said they had found them in the code of conduct; nobody else answered directly in the room.","asked_by":"A regent","ts":2255,"clip":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwgWmPmzmt4&t=2255s","in_room":"Building on Regent Joel Bergstrom's point that regents are fiduciaries, a regent asked whether trustee duties like loyalty are incorporated into the Board's documents, then said they had looked at the code of conduct and that those duties are already in it, and that this would be a good point to pass to the Regent Candidate Advisory Council. No one else answered the question directly.","status":"open","our_answer":"They are. Section III of the Board's Code of Conduct for Members of the Board of Regents sets out a duty of care, a duty of \"absolute\" and \"undivided loyalty to the University as a whole and its mission,\" and a duty of obedience to law, mission and University rules. The policy was adopted Feb. 14, 2020, and last amended Feb. 14, 2025. The advisory council's 2024–25 criteria already ask for willingness to follow that code.","facts":[]}],"next":[{"when":"2026-10-31","when_label":"Late October 2026","what":"The committee's feedback on regent selection criteria, plus input from regents not on the committee, is to be shared with the Regent Candidate Advisory Council later in October, along with the meeting recording.","kind":"follow-up","source_url":null,"ts":1554},{"when":"2026-12-10","what":"The committee is tentatively set to act on the namings and renamings amendments, which would end the 75-year limit on honorary building names.","kind":"vote","source_url":"https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/2026-10/docket-gov-oct2026-v2.pdf","ts":1394},{"when":"2026-12-10","what":"The committee is set to hear an overview of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act: how the University handles requests, what they cost, and how many come in.","kind":"meeting","source_url":"https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/2026-10/docket-gov-oct2026-v2.pdf","ts":143},{"when":"2027-02-11","what":"Proposed amendments to the Board's awards and honors policy, and to the policies on accepting charitable gifts (possibly including gift thresholds), are set for review, with action planned in April.","kind":"meeting","source_url":"https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/2026-10/docket-gov-oct2026-v2.pdf","ts":143},{"when":null,"what":"The Regent Candidate Advisory Council uses the input for the 2027 regent election cycle; a regent said four seats are open and a fifth may open because a sitting regent is running for the Legislature.","kind":"follow-up","source_url":"https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/2026-10/docket-gov-oct2026-v2.pdf","ts":2715}]},{"meeting":{"videoId":"oBcj_5qt6xc","body":"mission-fulfillment","date":"2026-10-08","title":"October 8, 2026 Mission Fulfillment Committee, University of Minnesota Board of Regents","video":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBcj_5qt6xc"},"questions":[{"question":"Is the AI Hub working on common-sense AI regulation, and is anyone studying how AI is panning out in the workforce?","answer":"Partly. Interim Vice Provost Galin Jones said internal AI governance groups are being formed in the provost's office and IT, with no firm answers yet, and that he urges legislators to regulate outcomes rather than the technology. For now ai.umn.edu points to existing rules, like IT's appropriate-use guidance, syllabus statements and the Student Conduct Code, not one University-wide AI policy; the docket lists a governance workgroup among the next six months' work. We couldn't confirm his count of more than 70 AI bills in the last legislative session.","asked_by":"Regent Mary Turner","ts":1494,"clip":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBcj_5qt6xc&t=1494s","in_room":"Interim Vice Provost Galin Jones said groups are being formed in the provost's office and with the CIO to work out AI governance, and that there are no firm answers yet. He said more than 70 AI bills were introduced in the last legislative session and none passed, and that he has urged legislators to regulate outcomes rather than the technology. On the workforce, AI Hub Deputy Director Genevieve Melton-Meaux pointed to a School of Public Health and Center for Learning Health System Sciences collaboration studying how health care organizations adopt AI tools.","status":"answered-in-room","our_answer":"The University doesn't have one AI policy yet. Its AI guidance page, ai.umn.edu, points to existing rules: IT's appropriate-use guidance, example syllabus statements and the Student Conduct Code, which treats unauthorized AI use like any other unauthorized help. The meeting docket lists a governance workgroup among the AI Hub's next six months of work. We couldn't confirm the count of more than 70 bills.","facts":[]},{"question":"How will AI tools be phased into classrooms: do students and faculty learn AI first, or does it happen in tandem?","answer":"Training comes first, but faculty aren't required to use AI. Jones said incoming students take literacy training so they know the rules before class, and units can write AI \"blueprints\" (choosing to ignore AI is allowed). President Cunningham said the Board's strategic plan sets a goal that all students graduate with AI literacy suited to their discipline. On ai.umn.edu, the student course (GenAI+U) takes about 30 minutes, and each instructor's policy comes first. We couldn't find the exact wording of the graduation metric she cited.","asked_by":"Student Representative Vera Barkosky","ts":1964,"clip":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBcj_5qt6xc&t=1964s","in_room":"Jones said the University isn't requiring faculty to use AI, that faculty keep academic freedom, and that the strategy is training first: incoming students learn what University policy allows before they reach the classroom, and units can write AI blueprints for their curriculum, including deciding to ignore AI. President Rebecca Cunningham said the Board's strategic plan sets a metric that all students graduate with AI literacy and fluency appropriate to their discipline, and that the Board will track it; Jones said the metric is being tracked.","status":"answered-in-room","our_answer":"Training first. ai.umn.edu lists a self-paced GenAI+U course for students (about 30 minutes) and one for instructors, and tells students that \"your instructor's policy comes first.\" The strategic plan's focus area, as quoted in the meeting docket, is a comprehensive AI education strategy for all learners. In March the College of Science and Engineering announced an AI course open to all majors starting fall 2026 and an AI minor for fall 2027, pending approval. We couldn't find the graduation metric's exact wording published.","facts":[]},{"question":"Can the University keep working with several AI vendors, or will it eventually have to pick one strategic partner?","answer":"It already favors two: Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot are free to all students, faculty and staff. ChatGPT Edu costs $20 to $200 per user per month, needs an EFS chartstring and is open to faculty, staff and graduate students, not undergraduates. Jones said the other tools stay because researchers need them and different tools do different things well, and that some vendors won't negotiate contract protections. Claude, which he mentioned, isn't on ai.umn.edu's list of approved tools as of Oct. 15, 2026.","asked_by":"Student Representative Caleb Masi","ts":2675,"clip":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBcj_5qt6xc&t=2675s","in_room":"Jones said the University has in effect prioritized one or two vendors, with free access to Gemini and Copilot, while still offering tools like ChatGPT or Claude because faculty research and teach with them and the tools are good at different things. He said those paid tools need a chart string, so a student would need to be connected to a faculty lab, and that some vendors negotiate contract protections while others are take-it-or-leave-it, which means the University has to set its own guardrails.","status":"answered-in-room","our_answer":"Gemini and Microsoft Copilot are free to all University students, faculty and staff, and the University says Gemini chats under a University account aren't used to train Google's models. ChatGPT Edu is open to faculty, staff and graduate students with an EFS chartstring, at $20 to $200 per user per month; undergraduates aren't eligible. ai.umn.edu lists Gemini, Copilot and ChatGPT Edu as approved tools; Claude wasn't on that list as of Oct. 15, 2026.","facts":[]},{"question":"How is the University planning for AI's shake-up of the workforce and for Minnesotans on the wrong side of the digital divide?","answer":"Still open. Jones said he isn't sure he has a solution. He said a new proposal with Minnesota State and the North and South Dakota systems would build AI infrastructure, since parts of all three states lack cell and internet service, and that psychologists in CEHD, CLA and Carlson are working on it. The separate NSF program the University applied to funds one coordination hub per state at $1 million a year for three years; its next deadlines are Dec. 15, 2026 (letter of intent) and Jan. 15, 2027.","asked_by":"Regent Kowsar Mohamed","ts":2495,"clip":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBcj_5qt6xc&t=2495s","in_room":"Jones said the University is putting together another proposal with Minnesota State and the North Dakota and South Dakota systems to build AI infrastructure capacity, because parts of all three states have poor cell and internet access. He said he wasn't sure he had a solution for the digital divide, and that the AI Hub works with psychologists in the College of Education and Human Development, the College of Liberal Arts and Carlson.","status":"answered-uncertain","our_answer":"Still open. We found no public details of the Dakotas proposal. The NSF program the University and Minnesota State applied to, TechAccess: AI-Ready America, funds one coordination hub per state at $1 million a year for three years. Jones said they would reapply in December if not funded; the next round's letters of intent are due Dec. 15, 2026, and full proposals Jan. 15, 2027.","facts":[]},{"question":"Can the AI Hub help the Board learn AI, and how does it keep up with other universities without duplicating their work?","answer":"Board training is coming, Jones said, hopefully in the spring; no date is posted. He said he and peers across the country compare notes through a national group organized by the Academic Data Science Alliance that meets about every six weeks. Another AI Hub presenter described an NSF-funded \"train the trainer\" event in February for Minnesota and the Dakotas; we couldn't find its date. The University's annual AI Forum is set for Feb. 24, 2027.","asked_by":"Regent Joel Bergstrom","ts":2918,"clip":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBcj_5qt6xc&t=2918s","in_room":"Jones said President Cunningham and Provost Ritter have also asked for training, that it is being developed and delayed by a staff member's leave, and that he hopes to offer it in the spring. He said he meets regularly with peers, including a national group organized by the Academic Data Science Alliance that meets about every six weeks. Another AI Hub presenter said the University is hosting a February regional train-the-trainer event funded through the National AI Research Resource.","status":"staff-to-follow-up","our_answer":"No date has been posted for Board AI training, and we couldn't find a date for the February train-the-trainer event. The AI Hub's events page lists the annual AI Forum, \"Navigating the Future of AI at UMN,\" for Feb. 24, 2027, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.","facts":[]},{"question":"How do first-year programs use student feedback, connect to Welcome Week, and reach students who work or can't do overnight trips?","answer":"CFANS designed its courses with its undergraduate student board, puts many sections on Friday afternoons, and lists overnight dates before students enroll. The College of Biological Sciences offers a Cedar Creek session of Nature of Life for students who can't spend several days away. Interim Vice Provost Amy Pittenger said she and the provost tested the Twin Cities seminar proposal with an undergraduate advisory board. The Welcome Week link wasn't addressed in the room; the docket's new Gopher Gateway program runs abroad, then Welcome Week, then a fall course.","asked_by":"Regent James Farnsworth","ts":5062,"clip":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBcj_5qt6xc&t=5062s","in_room":"CFANS Associate Dean Julie Grossman said the college's undergraduate student board and an advisory group shaped the courses, that many sections meet Friday afternoons so trips fit in class time, and that students learn overnight and Saturday trip dates before enrolling. Provost Gretchen Ritter said programs usually start as pilots and revise from student feedback, and that the College of Biological Sciences runs a Cedar Creek session of Nature of Life for students who can't be away several days. Interim Vice Provost Amy Pittenger said she and Ritter tested the seminar proposal with the undergraduate advisory board.","status":"answered-in-room","our_answer":"The meeting docket shows one link to Welcome Week: Gopher Gateway, launched in August 2026, takes incoming Twin Cities students abroad in late August, brings them back for Welcome Week, and continues as a fall course with the same cohort and professor. The CFANS courses are faculty-taught with fewer than 25 students each.","facts":[]},{"question":"Will first-year programs add extra support for first-generation students, and where does on-campus housing fit?","answer":"Ritter said the University is committed to first-generation students but named no specific new program. On housing, a systemwide group recommended aiming for a 90% on-campus housing requirement on all five campuses; no policy or timeline has been set. The Twin Cities has no requirement, only a housing guarantee for first-years who apply and pay by May 15. Rochester requires first- and second-year students to live on campus, and its first-year housing includes a First Gen living learning community.","asked_by":"Regent Joel Bergstrom","ts":5475,"clip":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBcj_5qt6xc&t=5475s","in_room":"Provost Ritter said small classes cost more, so the University looks for where they pay off most, and that it is committed to students from all backgrounds, including first-generation students. She said a working group across all five campuses recommended aiming for a 90% on-campus housing requirement, that Rochester already has a two-year requirement, and that the Twin Cities campus has none and is working out how to get there.","status":"answered-in-room","our_answer":"No 90% requirement has been adopted, and no date was given. On the Twin Cities campus, first-year students aren't required to live on campus; they're guaranteed housing if they apply and pay by May 15 and attend orientation (or sign up for an August one) by July 24. Rochester requires all first- and second-year students to live in approved on-campus housing, and the docket lists a First Gen living learning community there.","facts":[]}],"next":[{"when":"2026-10-26","what":"The AI Hub's third annual Women in AI and Data Science conference, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at McNamara Alumni Center; Jones said about 500 had registered.","kind":"meeting","source_url":"https://ai.umn.edu/training-events","ts":1226},{"when":"2026-12-10","what":"The committee's next meeting, set to hear the annual report on the University's research enterprise and an Elevate Extraordinary 2030 implementation topic to be named closer to the date.","kind":"meeting","source_url":"https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/2026-10/docket-mis-oct2026-v2.pdf","ts":null},{"when":"2026-12-15","what":"Letters of intent are due for the next round of NSF's TechAccess: AI-Ready America state hubs (full proposals Jan. 15, 2027). Jones said the University and Minnesota State reached the final round and would reapply in December if not funded.","kind":"deadline","source_url":"https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/techaccess-ai-ready-america/nsf26-508/solicitation","ts":1073},{"when":"2027-02-11","what":"The committee is set to discuss the University's collaboration with Minnesota State and how it secures public trust, both topics Provost Ritter flagged.","kind":"meeting","source_url":"https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/2026-10/docket-mis-oct2026-v2.pdf","ts":140},{"when":"2027-02-24","what":"The University's annual AI Forum, \"Navigating the Future of AI at UMN,\" 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., with tracks for staff, faculty and students.","kind":"meeting","source_url":"https://ai.umn.edu/training-events","ts":1208},{"when":"2027-03-01","when_label":"Spring 2027","what":"Jones said AI training the president and provost asked for should be ready in the spring and could be offered to the Board too.","kind":"follow-up","source_url":null,"ts":2961},{"when":"2027-04-08","what":"The committee is set to get an update on the University Enrollment Plan it approved in June 2026.","kind":"meeting","source_url":"https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/2026-10/docket-mis-oct2026-v2.pdf","ts":189},{"when":null,"what":"The proposal for a first-year seminar for every new Twin Cities student, led by Interim Vice Provost Amy Pittenger, came to the committee for discussion only; no action or date was set.","kind":"follow-up","source_url":null,"ts":4802},{"when":null,"what":"Administrators are working out how to reach the recommended 90% on-campus housing requirement; the Twin Cities campus has none today.","kind":"follow-up","source_url":null,"ts":5600}]}]}