The Michigan State University Board of Trustees will meet in public six times this year, reinstating the September meeting that the body voted to axe in 2024.

The decision to schedule six meetings for 2026, the first of which took place in February, was confirmed by Board Chair Brianna Scott on Thursday. The board will once again host a private forum that same month to hear from university stakeholders.

Scott, in a statement to The State News, wrote that trustees began discussing the possibility of holding a public meeting in September after last year's forum. That forum was criticized by some for lacking transparency, while proponents argued the forum's private nature allowed for frank conversation.

“I think this is a great compromise and I look forward to another opportunity to host and meet with our campus community as part of the September stakeholder engagement forum,” Scott wrote.

The board meeting will take place on Sept. 11, one day after the forum on Sept. 10.

The board reduced the number of times it was required to meet each year from six to five in December 2024, with the intention to hold two meetings each semester and one in the summer.

The resolution, which was passed in a 6-2 vote, explained that the decision was made after "examining best practices across comparable institutions,” and served to streamline the meeting process.

Board meetings have long been the standard way the public can address MSU leadership, though the resolution stated that the move was not an attempt to limit engagement with the board.

The "Stakeholder Engagement Forum” held last September, was birthed from a portion of the resolution which called for the president and board secretary to explore alternative forums where issues could be discussed.

Roughly 50 invitees, including university administrators, faculty and student leaders, actually attended the forum. While the forum raised concerns of transparency and proper engagement among its attendees, then-Board Chair Trustee Kelly Tebay said that the forum’s private nature allowed for “real conversations."