Ken Powell has stepped down as chair of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, acknowledging the Legislature is unlikely to award him a second term in the coming weeks.
“Given the many consequential and urgent decisions facing us, including selecting an interim president, the presidential transition and other critically important University matters, the Board needs a leadership team now that will be in place throughout these transitions and beyond,” he wrote in a letter to colleagues Monday.
Powell was elected to a six-year term on the board in 2017, soon before retiring as CEO and chairman of General Mills. Fellow regents named him chair in 2019.
His bid for a second term stalled in January when the Regent Candidate Advisory Council recommended four other candidates for his at-large seat.
“The Minnesota Legislature is poised to elect new Regents in the coming weeks, and it is very unlikely I will be elected for a second term,” Powell told colleagues Monday.
Powell is staying on the board to finish out his term, just not in a leadership position.
His decision means Janie Mayeron, a retired federal magistrate judge, will be elevated to chair. She has been vice chair since last fall, when Steve Sviggum left the position after making widely criticized comments about diversity at the U’s Morris campus.
As Powell referenced in his letter, U President Joan Gabel was announced April 3 as the next chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh.
Regents are holding a special meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday to “consider and act on next steps in a process to select an interim president” while they search for Gabel’s successor. They’ll also appoint a new vice chair during that meeting.
