ANN ARBOR, MI — After eight successful years, Shauna Ryder Diggs’ time on the University of Michigan Board of Regents is coming to an end.
It was a whirlwind eight years, starting with a presidential search and ending during the coronavirus pandemic, but when Ryder Diggs’ term on the board started in 2012, she felt she could help make changes on the ground to improve the college experience for students.
“So many of my friends and patients had children who were starting to go to college,” said Ryder Diggs, a cosmetic dermatologist from Grosse Pointe, Michigan. “I was hearing more about what college life was like and some of the challenges and opportunities parents and students were feeling on campus.”
One of Ryder Diggs’ first tasks on the board was to help hire UM’s next president after former president Mary Sue Coleman retired in 2014. The board eventually chose Mark Schlissel, but it was the first time Ryder Diggs had been involved in a presidential search.
The process was “all encompassing” and something she expected, but didn’t necessarily understand until the process began.
“The board has to work with a team, work quietly, find out what the community wants,” said Ryder Diggs. “We had town hall meetings all over the three campuses and the community, meetings with students and faculty members… and then try to pick the person who could address the needs of the institution.”
After being elected to the board, Ryder Diggs hoped to tackle a number of issues, including tuition increases, access and affordability, and diversity and inclusion. She and current board chair Denise Illitch were the only two to vote against a tuition increase this year, and Ryder Diggs said she didn’t feel it was the right thing to do with so much uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
With regards to inclusion, Ryder Diggs feels that universities should reflect society in the most holistic way and think about how the board can make that happen. She has also thought a lot about all three UM campuses and encouraged the university to reach even beyond those spaces.
“When I was chair, we had a regent meeting in Detroit and a regent meeting in Grand Rapids,” Ryder Diggs said. “We represent the taxpayers in the state of Michigan and we should be making sure that we hear all voices around the state, not just in Ann Arbor, Flint and Dearborn.”
Looking back at the initiatives she was involved with on the board, Ryder Diggs was proud of how far the Go Blue Guarantee has come, which offers free tuition for families with incomes under $65,000. There has also been progress in diversity, equity and inclusion, which has been a university-wide effort.
The university could still make progress on its sexual misconduct policies. It’s a topic Ryder Diggs feels she has been working on her entire term.
“The issues with Dr. (Robert Anderson) and our former provost have really brought things to the forefront, that issues of sexual misconduct at the university need a complete revision, and it needs to be campus wide,” Ryder Diggs said.
She noted that the board is in the process of doing that now with the hiring of Guidepost Solutions to help implement recommendations made by law firm WilmerHale in a report detailing sexual misconduct by former provost Martin Philbert.
Although her time on the board is coming to an end, Ryder Diggs still plans to be an active part of the UM community by having more conversations with students and helping the Alumni Association. She will also have time to focus on the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities, which helps higher education trustees nationwide, as well as the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation and Michigan Opera Theatre.
Looking back at their time working together, Illitch said Ryder Diggs brought a critical perspective to the board as a physician and was one of the best regents she has had the privilege of working with.
“She is a highly intelligent person who is deeply committed to access and affordability for (UM) students as well as comprehensive diversity and inclusion throughout (UM),” Illitch said. “... We will sorely miss her voice and advocacy at the (UM).”
Ryder Diggs’ term on the board will officially end Jan. 1, when she will be replaced by Republican newcomer Sarah Hubbard.
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