ST. PAUL (AP) - Michael Vekich withdrew from an appointment to the University of Minnesota Board of Regents on Friday to avoid a conflict of interest with an anti-smoking organization.
Vekich is chairman of the board of the Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco, a group that gives money to the university.
Under MPAAT policies, his service on the Board of Regents, even if he resigned from MPAAT, would create "serious issues" for future grant applications from the university, Vekich said in a letter to Gov. Tim Pawlenty Friday.
"I do not wish for my appointment to create any potential issues that would prevent either organization from fulfilling their respective missions," Vekich said in the letter.
The withdrawal comes just one day after Pawlenty appointed Vekich to finish the term of another regent, Richard "Pinky" McNamara, who resigned for health reasons.
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Vekich is a former chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, and served as acting director of the state lottery last year.
