Objective: Require the Wayne County Commission to follow an open and transparent process when appointing board members to the Wayne County Art Institute Authority.

Why we’re doing this: To allow the Art Institute Authority to draw from a broader pool of qualified applicants, and hence permit it to hold the DIA to higher standards of delivery.

Actions to date: we wrote to the Art Institute Authority requesting that the term limits for the board members be added to the Wayne County Art Institute Authority Home Page. In practice, this also required that term limits be defined for the board members since previously their terms had effectively been limitless

Outcomes: in May of 2021, term limits were set for all nine members with the earliest five set to expire in May 2022. These expiration dates were added to the Wayne County Art Institue Authority web page.

In addition, we were verbally assured that a transparent process for nomination of replacements would be put in place towards the end of 2021.

Objective: Require the Wayne County Art Institute Authority to comply with the Michigan Open Meetings Act.

Why we’re doing this: So that the people of Wayne County can hold the Detroit Institute of the Arts to higher standards.

Actions to date: we consulted with an attorney specializing in government transparency issues, and on 9/7/20, filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Wayne County for information on Art Institute Authority meetings and meeting minutes.

Outcomes: As a result of our actions, Wayne County created a home page for the Art Institute Authority which includes dates for upcoming meetings, members of the authority, minutes from previous meetings, bylaws, governing legislation, service agreements with the DIA, and other information.