But because of how it interprets the law, the board did not ask the governor to excuse absences by Cummings and Mfume, who have also missed more than half the meetings during some 12-month stretches of 2007 and 2008.
"The university looks at the 12-month period as running from fiscal year to fiscal year, and our records suggest that none have had any problem, except for Malcom," said Morgan spokesman Clinton R. Coleman.
Evans and Malcom did not return calls for comment. Neither did president of Verizon Maryland, William R. Roberts, who also missed various meetings.
Martin R. Resnick, the board's vice chairman who has been a member since 1983 and has a good attendance record, said he's "never really questioned" other members' attendance. "The more people who attend the meetings, the happier we are," he said. "I haven't put any emphasis on that myself, personally."
But former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. did. In 2006, he declined to reappoint Cummings to the board, saying the Democratic congressman's poor attendance record disqualified him from continued service. The Republican governor's decision caused a furor in the Democratic-controlled Senate, which voted to reject Ehrlich's nominee to replace Cummings, saying that the governor's actions were politically motivated.
"It wasn't a subjective decision on our part. It was the law that said he cannot serve," said Larry Hogan, appointments secretary under Ehrlich. "These are real jobs with serious responsibilities, and it requires people who are going to put the time and energy in."
Cummings' seat remained vacant until O'Malley, a Democrat, took office in 2007. Cummings has missed three of the four board meetings held since O'Malley reappointed him in March of last year. During his entire tenure on the board since 1999, Cummings has missed about 60 percent of board meetings.
"I work hard for Morgan," said Cummings, citing millions in federal funds he has helped steer to the school, which is in his district.
But Sonnenfeld said Cummings' advocacy on Morgan's behalf in Washington is not an appropriate replacement for attendance.
"That's his congressional role," Sonnenfeld said. "He's already hired to do that. If he can't serve in management oversight decisions, then he really shouldn't be serving on the board."
Nell Minnow, a co-founder of the governance watchdog group The Corporate Library, said attendance problems of the sort experienced on the Morgan board would not be tolerated in the business world.
