Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees is seeking to expand public participation in its second annual invite-only “Stakeholder Engagement Forum” this fall.

In a campus-wide email sent Wednesday, the board called on students, staff and faculty to suggest discussion topics and nominate participants through a survey.

The forum, which is scheduled for Sept. 10. 2026, seeks to “broaden participation and deepen engagement by building on last year’s inaugural forum” according to the survey form. The decision follows last year’s controversial launch for the event, where attendees raised concerns of transparency and proper engagement.

Respondents can recommend up to three discussion themes and nominate up to 10 individuals affiliated with MSU, including themselves. The announcement stressed that invitations are not guaranteed by participating in the nomination process.

“We are especially interested in broadening participation and hearing from voices that may not traditionally be centered in institutional discussions,” the announcement email stated. “Lived experience, professional expertise, and thoughtful perspectives are all valuable, and we welcome the chance to hear from you.”

The first forum, which included roughly 50 attendees such as university administrators, faculty and student leaders, also invited the MSU community to complete a survey the spring before the event. That survey also allowed for respondents to nominate themselves as attendees.

It is unclear how many participants were invited through the survey.

University spokesperson Amber McCann, in an email to The State News, wrote that the survey remains largely the same compared to last year's, with it allowing for respondents to recommend topics of discussion. Although four themes were predetermined when last year’s survey was released, McCann said a fifth theme, “undergraduate student experience” was added based on survey results.

McCann confirmed that some attendees were determined based on nominations from the survey, but emphasized that participants were selected through a variety of ways.

"The goal is to broaden that participation for this year’s event," McCann wrote.