Being a Trustee
To be invited to serve on a board of trustees is one of the highest honors a college or university can bestow upon an individual. Such an invitation indicates that the individual has made a significant contribution to the community, has made noteworthy achievements in the service of society, and is capable of making equally important contributions to the institution and to higher education. In a nation of nearly 300 million people, only 50,000 citizens currently serve on academic governing boards.
The following questions have been adapted from "The Commitment to Trusteeship," an essay written for AGB in 1990 by governance expert and retired college president John W. Nason.
1. Do you have an interest in higher education and a genuine concern for this college or university?
Higher education is beset with myriad unanswered and complex questions. If they do not interest you, you would be better advised to spend your energy on other activities. The number of good causes is nearly infinite. The time and energy of any single individual is finite. Put your efforts where your heart is.
2. Are you prepared to commit the necessary time and energy?
Trustees are expected to attend board meetings, serve on committees, and occasionally represent their institutions at public functions. These activities take time--an average of six hours a month for the typical independent institution. Further, trustees must take on work between meetings--reading background material, committee reports, and higher education publications; consulting with their board colleagues and the chief executive; and fulfilling their committee assignments. While the workload is not burdensome, it does take time and effort.
3. Have you any conflicts of interest?
Trusteeship today is more vulnerable to potential conflicts of interest than in the past. Boards have ways of addressing and resolving conflicts of interest--chiefly by recording them in advance and by allowing individual trustees to excuse themselves from decisions that may present potential conflicts of interest. Such conflicts may lend themselves to misinterpretation. Prospective trustees must calculate all risks.
4. Are you prepared financially to support the institution, and are you prepared to ask others to give money?
This is a double-barreled question: Trustees must be prepared to carry out both tasks effectively. The board must provide leadership in fund-raising. Independent college and university trustees should give according to their financial means. Capital campaigns especially must begin with the generous donations of board members.
5. Are you prepared to be a public advocate for the institution?
Sooner or later, a chief executive will need the public support of his or her board; trustees must be prepared to defend their institutions. Trustees must support controversial or unpopular policies, decisions, or actions. Institutions must be free to decide what and how to teach; who will teach; whom to admit; what research to conduct; and what values the institution embraces. Trustees must be prepared to use their personal status and goodwill to defend their institution's integrity and reputation.
6. Are you prepared to work within the conventional framework of academic governance?
The academic world differs from the corporate world in several important respects. Most notably, important policy decisions are the result of consultation among the board, the chief executive, and the faculty, among others. This process can be unsettling to executives who are accustomed to unilateral decision making. Nevertheless, most institutions operate under some rubric of shared governance, and trustees must learn to accommodate decentralized decision making.
Additionally, presidents have less authority than the business CEOs. Rather than dictating orders, academic presidents often lead by persuading others to follow. Trustees need to recognize the importance of the president's role as mediator and provide sufficient support. Further, boards of trustees remain more actively engaged in the institution than boards of most for-profit enterprises. Trustees must ask questions, challenge recommendations, and explore alternatives.
Finally, trustees must be prepared to accept group decisions, even when they disagree with them. And while trustees should not shy away from voicing strong convictions and independent judgments, once a group decision has been made a good trustee will support it. If not, he or she should be prepared to resign.
7. Do you understand the full range of college or university trusteeship?
In general, three personal qualities identify the successful trustee. First, a trustee should be curious about every aspect of the institution's operations and be willing to ask questions. Second, a trustee must tolerate ambiguity and be able to function effectively in an environment where complex questions preclude simple answers. Third, a trustee must have a sense of humor--that is, a sense of proportion and perspective, and a realistic view of one's own limitations. It's a great job.
Articles and features on trusteeship in public and private higher education
"The Dangers of Public Higher Education's Unplanned Future," by Stanley O. Ikenberry. This article appeared in Trusteeship, July/August 2004, 8-14.
"The Overlapping Worlds of Academic Governance," by Richard J. Morrill. This article appeared in Trusteeship, January/February 2003, 29-32.
"Touchstones of Independence," by Thomas Arden Roha. This article appeared in Trusteeship, May/June 1999, 28-31.
