Sixteen candidates recommended for University of Minnesota Board of Regents

(St. Paul, MN, January 11, 2019) The Regent Candidate Advisory Council (RCAC) voted today to recommend 16 candidates to the Regent Nomination Joint Legislative Committee for final consideration of election to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota. The Joint Legislative Committee selects one candidate for each open regent seat, and submits this slate of candidates for consideration by the full Legislature sitting in Joint Convention.

The four open regent seats to be filled include one from Minnesota’s fifth congressional district, one student statewide at-large seat and two statewide at-large seats.

The RCAC received a total of 47 applications for the four regent seats and interviewed 23 candidates. Finalists recommended to the Joint Legislative Committee are (in alphabetical order):

Fifth District

• Allison Barmann (Edina)

• Kelly Doran (Minneapolis)

• Peggy Lucas (Minneapolis)

• Janie Mayeron (Minneapolis)

Student At-Large

• James Farnsworth (Minneapolis)

• Mike Kenyanya (Duluth)

• Sara Kettering (Minneapolis)

• Joshua Preston (Minneapolis)

At-Large (Two Seats)

• Lynn Abrahamsen (St. Paul)

• Susan Adams Loyd (Edina)

• Mary Davenport (Mankato)

• Robert Eddy (Big Lake)

• Kao Ly Ilean Her (Maplewood)

• Dean Johnson (Willmar)

• Bill Luther (Minnetonka)

• Sandy Wiese (Eagan)

The RCAC was created by the Legislature in 1988 and is responsible for recruiting, screening, and recommending regent candidates to the State Legislature. State law requires that a minimum of two and a maximum of four names be forwarded for each open regent seat. The RCAC’s 24 members are appointed by the Legislature.

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents is the governing body of the University of Minnesota. Its 12 members are elected by the Legislature and serve without pay. Eight members represent the state’s congressional districts, and four members are elected to at large seats, as is a student representative. The regent’s six-year terms are staggered so that four regent seats come up for appointment every two years.

According to RCAC Chair Daniel Wolter, “The Regent Candidate Advisory Council is grateful for the outstanding applicants who applied for the position of Regent of the University of Minnesota. This was a diverse candidate pool that was exceptional in accomplishment and vision. The willingness of these people to give of their time, talent and energy to serve the University and the State as a Regent speaks well of them as individuals and shows that the Governing Board of the University attracts people who are well credentialed, experienced and with expertise essential to good governance. This long and careful process of selecting individuals for recommendation to the Legislature was difficult, but we are confident the University will be well served by whomever the Legislature selects from this list of well qualified candidates.”