Innovation in Action: The Value of the Board Professionals Conference

Let’s open with a simple value proposition that undergirds the 2026 AGB Board Professionals Conference in Denver, March 26–28:

“Your Board and Your Institution Need You—Now More than Ever”

Each one of us who commits to the enduring value of higher education is keenly aware of why this proposition is so true. Examine the current landscape for our colleges and universities:

• Financial challenges;
• Declining enrollments;
• A rapidly changing world of admissions which includes increased competition, transfer incentives, antitrust issues, and new court decisions;
• Sudden technological change including the proliferation of generative artificial intelligence, increased demands for data, and new academic fields;
• Threats to institutional autonomy and academic freedom;
• Growing public skepticism about the value of higher education;
• Increased anxiety among and about international students who strive to become the best and brightest of their generation through American higher education; and
• Shifting government mandates and directives, with almost daily pronouncements which can generate consequences for every aspect of higher education.

It is no longer the case that we can rely on our presidents, board chairs, and a few trustees to “figure all of it out” while the rest of us go about our everyday business. Ensuring the continued strength and viability of our institutions is a team sport. And now more than ever, your board members, your colleagues, and your institution need you to be at your absolute best as a board professional in the current challenging landscape.

Times of great challenge are not synonymous with the construction of shields, walls, fences, or other defenses, nor with prayers for a return to the “good old days.” Instead of retrenchment, board professionals know that these times present unique opportunities for change. How are you being innovative in your work, your relationships, and your partnerships with the leaders of your institutions to be the best board professional ever?

How are you employing your skills and talents to ensure your institution’s governance and the tools which promote good governance—from well-run meetings and insightful board materials to targeted strategic plans and helping the board and institutional leaders focus on the right priorities—are best in class?

Whether you have figured out the many innovative ways to be at your best, or you have no answers at all, the place to learn, practice, exercise, share, teach others, and leverage the power of innovation to navigate these turbulent times is the AGB Board Professionals Conference in Denver, March 26–28.

Board Professional as Innovator

Borrowing from the blog post about our successful Board Professionals Conference last year, ask yourself: How are you as your institution’s board professional developing and perfecting a strategy of collaborative leadership and innovation to meet the challenges of our time? How have you adapted or changed what you do in ways to take on these challenges? How have you innovated what you do to ensure your work is best in class? After all, you are:

• A professional highly attuned to strategic issues—academic, administrative, student-facing, financial, and political, among others—confronting your institution and the higher education ecosystem, including an uncanny ability to see the issues “just around the corner”;
• A partner to help the board do its best work—without the distractions created in these times that can divert board members from their focus on the institution’s mission;
• An “alignment tester” to assess alignment between the board’s and the president’s/chief executive’s priorities, as well as alignment of those priorities with the values of your institution and the spirit of your community;
• A skilled planner and manager of consequential board meetings—from planning and preparation to execution—because every detail matters in enabling high-performing boards;
• A true partner in governance through framing and resolving governance and policy issues;
• A candid sounding board for the president/chief executive and senior leaders about strategic issues facing the board;
• A facilitator of information crucial for the board to understand regarding the institution’s handling of issues, especially during a crisis;
• A trusted confidant whose impartiality, judgment, regard for sensitive information, and discretion are deeply respected by board leaders, board members, the president/chief executive, and other senior leaders;
• A relationship manager for (and between) senior institutional leaders and board members;
• A skilled communicator of key institutional accomplishments and events; and
• A resource to help board members assess their effectiveness and understand their fiduciary duties, as well as their expectations (and limitations) in support of a healthy, inclusive board culture and good governance.

Using the AGB Conference to Leverage Excellence

Whether you have some or all the roles and responsibilities outlined above, how does the Board Professionals Conference help us ensure we are adapting and innovating as our sector undergoes significant transformation? Look at the conference schedule planned by the AGB Board Professionals Leadership Group and you can see how the theme of “Innovation in Action” runs through the programming in a variety of ways, offering perspectives that reflect our varied roles. Consider attending the many valuable conference sessions to polish your skills, enhance your knowledge, and collaborate with colleagues on tips, best practices, and effective tools to enhance your effectiveness as your institution’s board professional.

Conference Dividends and Takeaways

Finally, consider one thought from my blog last year:

None of the learning, experience sharing, knowledge building, skill polishing, and consequential work at our conference occurs in a vacuum. In fact, we could not be our best selves without each other’s company. As Charlene K. Reed noted in The Role of the Board Professional, our role can be solitary and lonely at times. Few of us are blessed with robust levels of support staff who can be engaged to consider issues and topics requiring sensitivity, impartiality, objectivity, and confidentiality. Moreover, few colleagues inside of our institutions think about our boards as much more than another constituency to “keep happy.”

So, for me, a major dividend of this conference is the opportunity to be with colleagues as we learn and share perspectives in one another’s company. It is also why I invest time in various AGB webinars and other online discussions throughout the year offering the opportunity to learn from the best and brightest in our profession as they share their successful (and unsuccessful) practices, takeaways, and tips.

In closing, none of us are born as the “best board professional.” Instead, we develop our skills and do our best work in our various roles through the time we invest to develop our better selves. The AGB Board Professionals Conference is a preeminent resource to help us be at our best. I hope you will find the time to avail yourselves of the opportunities the conference will provide. Please be sure to stop me and say hello, and I look forward to seeing you there.

Richard Y. Uchida is vice president, general counsel, and secretary of the college at Colby College, and a member of the AGB Council of Board Professionals.