This issue of Trusteeship focuses on the questions trustees should be asking regarding environmental sustainability in the cover article, "Sustainability: What is the Trustee's Stake?" Stephen Trachtenberg answers the confusing questions trustees need to know in "Bottom Line, Bottom Line." Read about how the University of Iowa braved the storm in "University of Iowa Flooding: The Expected and Unexpected." Roger H. Hull gives trustees and presidents a list of helpful hints in "A Primer for College Presidents." H. Scott Caven discusses the board's greatest responsibility while Kevin P. Reilly debates the the GI Bill and Student Veterans. Finally, in the Both Sides Now article, William F. Merck and Roger Goodman debate issues in "Should Institutions Undertake Development Projects with Private Entities?"
Even in the dog days of Gainesville’s muggy summer, visitors to the
University of Florida might glimpse the institution’s director of
sustainability, Dedee DeLongpré, biking to work in a skirt and heels.
DeLongpré couldn’t park a car on campus even if she wanted to—she
doesn’t own a parking permit.
Strategic planning can make a real difference only if the board of
trustees plays a leading role in the process. The heart of trustee
responsibility is at the heart of a strategic plan—delineating the ways
in which the institution lives out its mission and the means required
to do it successfully; the why of the college’s existence and the
sources of the money to support it.
In the coming year, colleges and universities will need to spend
more time on things other than developing talented future scientists,
doctors, business leaders, and teachers who will be called upon to
solve the world’s most vexing problems. Instead, more resources must be
devoted to ramping up for more federal reporting and disclosure in
areas ranging from tuition costs to residence-hall sprinklers.
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg
Considering that the modern American university is sui generis—or
perhaps just an odd creature—no one should be surprised that people in
business recruited to serve on boards of trustees often are bewildered
by university modes of operation and confused by methods of university
administration.
Filling sandbags as part ofa human chain that includes college
students, prisoners, and Amish farmers is probably not in the job
description for any member of a university board of regents anywhere.
Nonetheless, that’s what Robert Downer, a member of the Iowa Board of
Regents, found himself doing in the days before the Iowa River
overflowed its banks and deluged 20 buildings on the University of
Iowa’s Iowa City campus this past June.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur famously said that old soldiers just fade away.
So should former college presidents—at least that’s what I believed
when, as a 27-year-old newly out of law school, I became a college
trustee and saw the harm that former presidents could cause.
It is accepted practice for public universities to work with the
private sector on projects that enhance research and improve academics.
These “knowledge” investments increase research funding, attract and
keep high-quality faculty, and create outstanding educational
opportunities.
New federal legislation is making it easier for veterans to trade in
their flak jackets for backpacks and books and to pursue postsecondary
education. As president of the University of Wisconsin System, where
nearly 4,000 veterans enrolled last year and growing numbers are
expected, I have seen the value these veterans bring to our campuses.
Off all the responsibilities of a system’s board, none is greater than
selecting the leadership of the system. When Mark Yudof advised us of
his decision to go West, the University of Texas System Regents knew
that the chancellorship search would be a formidable and high-priority
task. As chairman of the board, the first thing I did was acknowledge
to myself that, for the foreseeable future, much of my time and energy
would be devoted to ensuring a smooth transition and finding the best
possible chancellor to head the 15 institutions that make up the
University of Texas System.
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