The University of North Texas System’s nine regents have called a special meeting for Oct. 28 in Dallas, three weeks ahead of their next regular one, to be briefed on a proposed change to the board rule that sets tuition and fees. The notice carries no public comment item, and none of the five items on it is posted for a vote.
The board says in the notice that the meeting is necessary because the agenda matters are urgent enough to be taken up before the board next meets on Nov. 19. What the change would do is not stated. The agenda names only the rule number, and the rule is not attached. The board’s own rulebook lists 07.400 as its tuition and fees rule, in the chapter covering student affairs, education and funding. It is paired on the agenda with the system’s annual debt update, and the two share a single line. Any move on tuition runs into a standing instruction: Gov. Greg Abbott told public college and university presidents in May not to raise undergraduate tuition or fees for 2026-27.
The rest of the open session is lighter. Regents are briefed on the system’s brand development and on an artificial intelligence strategy before the morning ends, and after lunch on the UNT master plan and on board business and planning. The notice says the regents will sit in an informal workshop format to receive information and discuss, and posts no item for action — a workshop of this kind produces direction for staff, not votes. The regents sit at a downtown Dallas hotel rather than on a campus, and the notice blocks out most of a working day for it, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Between those two blocks, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the board recesses behind closed doors. The notice reserves six grounds under the Open Meetings Act: legal advice and litigation, including investigations and any findings or recommendations from them; the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property; prospective gifts; personnel matters; and two security provisions covering information technology and physical security. The notice does not say whether any such matter exists or will be raised, and reserving a ground is not evidence that it will be used.
Whether the tuition rule returns Nov. 19 as something the regents can vote on is the thing to watch.
Meeting at a glance
- When
- 8:30 AM, Wednesday, October 28, 2026, adjourning by 4:00 p.m. TRD 2026006295 was filed October 22 at 4:54 p.m.
- Where
- Omni Dallas Hotel, Deep Ellum Conference Room, 555 S. Lamar St., Dallas.
- Governing body & chair
- University of North Texas System Board of Regents — nine regents named by the governor and confirmed by the Senate to six-year terms, plus a non-voting student regent appointed each year. Carlos Munguia is chair and Melisa Denis vice chair.
- Format
- Special called workshop. Open session 8:30 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m., with a closed session in between. Five numbered items, none posted for action, and no public comment item.
- Live video
- None named on the notice.
- Full agenda
- Secretary of State Open Meeting Viewer · UNT System Board of Regents
Regents
- Carlos Munguia — chair; Dallas; term to May 2029.
- Melisa Denis — vice chair; Southlake; listed term expired 2025.
- Cathy Bryce — Argyle; term to May 2029.
- Terri West — Lucas; term to May 2029.
- Lynn Gravley — Gunter; logistics executive; term to May 2031.
- A.K. Mago — Dallas; term to May 2027.
- Laura Wright — Dallas; former board chair; term to May 2027.
- Lindy Rydman — Houston; term to May 2027.
- John Scott Jr. — Keller; listed term expired 2025.
- Ronald Makumbi — student regent, non-voting; Fort Worth.
The board’s own regents page, read October 23, gives the names, the officer titles and the term-expiration groupings but no cities; the cities and the Bryce spelling come from the Texas State Directory. The regents page says a member’s term runs until a successor is appointed, confirmed and sworn, which is why two members are listed under expirations already past. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Lynn Gravley, founder of a Gunter freight brokerage, in April 2026.