What Do We Stand For?

We are now in an election year, and here in Washington, D.C., that means constant news coverage of primary season. No matter who wins in Novembers, as goes the nation, so goes higher education, and vice versa. Our colleges and universities and the trustees who serve them have a unique mandate, no matter who occupies the White House or which party controls the houses of Congress: to facilitate student access to higher education; to ensure academic quality and high persistence rates; and to help young people live up to the expectations of a civil society and contribute to the demands of a 21st century workforce.

In this time of economic turmoil, it was heartening to spend part of last week in La Jolla, California, meeting with members of institutionally related foundation boards from across the country. These nearly 400 servants of public education, who gathered at AGB’s 16th Annual Foundation Forum, met to discuss the public purposes of higher education and the role institutionally related foundations must play in advancing public colleges and universities. They attended sessions on topics ranging from building a culture of philanthropy to restructuring the foundation to better support the institution; from keeping board service meaningful and engaging to developing a sustainable funding model; from governance practices and strategic initiatives that can enhance the capacity of foundations to the way in which foundation/institution partnerships are evolving as the funding and governance of public higher education changes.

We were joined by speakers such as Mark G. Yudof, the visionary president of the University of California (read his keynote address); André Perold, the retired George Gund Professor of Finance and Banking at Harvard Business School and CIO/Co-managing partner of HighVista Strategies LLC; and Eric Upin, partner and CIO, Makena Capital Management. They shared their wisdom with the crowds, and the crowds shared their knowledge and experience with each other. In this era of continuing economic uncertainty, it was comforting to know that some of the most innovative thinkers in our sector were gathered inside the AGB tent.

As the challenges facing higher education and our country continue to mount, we must remember that these are the times when upholding high standards matters most. Citizen trustees are called to serve and lead just as surely as those running for public office. There will be no referendum on trusteeship on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, but rather an ongoing examination of our behavior as guardians of the public trust, granted the responsibility and authority to continue the grand experiment of the American higher education system. What do we stand for if not that?