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Trusteeship Articles By Topic: Legal Issues and Compliance

Why Do So Many Lawsuits End in Settlement? Check Your E-mail.
Lawrence White
September/October 2011

Board members, when conferring with legal counsel about cases on their institution's litigation docket, should bear in mind that the vast majority of cases settle.

What Do Boards Need to Know about Presidential Housing and the IRS Form 990?
September/October 2010

Colleges and universities have a long history and culture of providing a residence, often located on campus, for the president. The value of this benefit, whether taxable or nontaxable, must now be disclosed in Form 990.

Does Your Institution Need a Social-Media Policy?
Pamela Bernard
September/October 2010

When an employee posts a comment about an internal management squabble on Facebook using a university computer, should the policy give the institution the right to obtain access to that account from Facebook?

Keeping Your Legal Budget in Check in Tough Economic Times
Pamela J. Bernard
September/October 2009

Colleges and universities battling budget cuts and poor endowment performance are looking for every possible way to save money. Are there strategies that can help contain legal costs while adequately protecting institutions from unreasonable financial, operational, reputational, and strategic risks?

The answer is yes, but there is no silver bullet.

Benchmarking Legal Costs
Lawrence White
July/August 2011

No institution has ever concluded it pays too little in legal fees. Few institutions, however, have paid serious attention to benchmarking their legal expenses. Do metrics exist that can aid board members and other institutional leaders in assessing whether legal bills are reasonable?

U.S. Proposes Greater Transparency--and Burdens--Tied to Biomedical Funds
Pamela J. Bernard
July/August 2010

Media reports over the past few years have highlighted instances of significant financial payments from drug and medical-device companies to faculty researchers who conduct scientific studies of the companies’ newest drugs or devices. Because academic researchers are seen as more independent than company-employed scientists, their findings on the efficacy or safety of the new products, whether positive or negative, theoretically serve as a reliable check on the big business of pharmaceuticals and devices. But how does the average person—or governing board—know what research is truly independent?

Is Your Institution a Sitting Duck for Campus Whistleblowers?
Pamela J. Bernard
July/August 2009

Acting to head off claims and shoring up internal systems can save an institution millions in financial penalties and legal fees.

Show Me What I'm Looking For: A Trustee's Guide to Reviewing the New IRS Form 990
July/August 2009

Much has been made of the Internal Revenue Service's introduction of the completely revised Form 990 last year. The new Form 990 is no longer a document focused on financial data. It is now a governance-centric document that places its primary focus on the work of the governing body. The board must now be a partner with management and the organization's consultants to ensure that the organization's governance is effective, up-to-date, and properly explained to the public.

What are the College Prospects for Young Non-Citizens?
Helen Aguirre Ferré
July/August 2009

A recent portrait of undocumented immigrants by the Pew Hispanic Center reveals that most children of undocumented residents living in the U.S. are actually citizens. According to "A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States," 73 percent of children in undocumented or mixed-status families (with a parent or sibling undocumented) were born in the U.S. That adds up to approximately four million young people, contrasted with a million and a half undocumented youths.

Presidents and Boards Must Be Deliberate As They Expand International Activities
Pamela J. Bernard
July/August 2008

Today’s presidents and board members will want to know whether the legal, policy, and operational risks of international activities are understood and mitigated wherever possible.

What the New and Invigorated Americans with Disabilities Act Means for Boards
Lawrence White
May/June 2011

For the forseeable future, colleges and universities confront a statutory and regulator regime that encourages disability discrimination claims.

What Does the "Federalization" of Accreditation Mean for Boards and Institutions?
Judith Eaton
May/June 2011

The 2008 reauthorization of the Higher Education Opportunity Act and the rules that accompanied it in 2009 and 2010 have given significantly more authority to the federal government in academic decision making. Judith Eaton, president of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), tells boards why they should be concerned.


Listen to a podcast of Judith Eaton discussing this topic.

Preventing Workplace Violence Involving Faculty Members
Pamela J. Bernard
May/June 2010

Many university boards and administrations have experience preparing emergency-response teams for campus violence, though attention typically is focused on campus intruders, disgruntled staff employees, or students. The recent shootings of three faculty members at the University of Alabama Huntsville by a faculty member denied tenure, however, raise questions about whether campuses are sufficiently prepared for violence from faculty members.

New Privacy and Security Laws Found in Unlikely Places
Pamela J. Bernard
May/June 2009
The Principles of Indemnification, and Why Trustees Should Care About It
Lawrence White
March/April 2012

Cognizant of the fact that talented trustees will not serve unless protected against the risk of litigation, virtually every college in the country indemnifies them against lawsuits.