The University is governed by the Board of Regents, which consists of eight members elected at large in biennial state-wide elections. The president of the University serves as an ex officio member of the board.

The Regents serve without compensation for overlapping terms of eight years. According to the Michigan Constitution of 1963, the Regents have “general supervision” of the institution and “the control and direction of all expenditures from the institution’s funds.”