Regents of the University of Michigan

Regents of the University of Michigan
History
Founded	March 18, 1837; 187 years ago (1837-03-18)
Preceded by	Board of Trustees of the University of Michigan
Structure
Seats	8 elected, voting 1 ex officio, non-voting
Political groups	Democratic (6)   Republican (2)
Length of term	8 years
Authority	Article VIII, sec. 5, Constitution of Michigan
Salary	unpaid
Website
regents.umich.edu

The Regents of the University of Michigan, sometimes referred to as the board of regents, is a constitutional office of the U.S. state of Michigan which forms the governing body of the University of Michigan, University of Michigan–Flint, and University of Michigan–Dearborn.

The Board of Regents was first created by legislative act in 1837, and the regents as a body corporate have been defined in the Constitution of Michigan since 1850. There are eight regents, two of whom are elected to an eight-year term by statewide ballot every two years, plus the president of the University of Michigan, who serves ex officio but does not vote.

Michigan is one of four states with public university governing boards elected directly by the people (along with Colorado, Nebraska, and Nevada).^[1] In contrast, the state universities and the consolidated or coordinating boards in other states are controlled by governors and legislatures. The board of regents is one of three elected university governing boards—along with the Michigan State University board of trustees and the Wayne State University board of governors—defined by the constitution of Michigan.