Govern NOW: The Mission-Critical Importance of Board Independence*

Opinions expressed in AGB blogs are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the institutions that employ them or of AGB.

The list of adjectives in higher education to go with “pressures” gets longer every day—economic, demographic, financial, technological, and now takeover—external stakeholders with ideological agendas telling seasoned leaders and professors what to do. Governing boards committed to exercising their fiduciary responsibilities must not only pursue their institution’s best interests but now must also protect their colleges and universities from harm. If this type of external pressure hasn’t reached your institution yet, it will.

Powerful influencers today aim to exert ideological control over what citizens learn; undercutting a college’s or university’s mission to search for truth leads to the erosion of free society. According to the 2026 Academic Freedom Index, U.S. institutional autonomy has deteriorated approximately 50 percent since 2015. Some other countries are heading the same way, but the decline in the United States has been faster and more pronounced than in Hungary, India, and Turkey.

Reversing that trend falls to all of us doing what we can, where we are, with what we have. Governing boards and presidents have the greatest burden, and the greatest opportunity.

Independent boards asserting institutional autonomy prevent a college or university from becoming a compliance office for government or other outside influencers.

Every org chart I’ve ever seen positions the governing board and the president at the top, with key external constituencies on the periphery. Engaging with those constituencies is essential, but the buck stops with the president and the board. They are trustees. Society charges them with holding the institution in trust for society and for the future. Today’s challenges require board members, chief administrators, and staff to ask questions about things that may have been taken for granted, such as: What are the boundaries of free speech? Why is academic freedom so important? They can’t tell us what to do—can they? What leverage do we have to protect the institution? How can we reconnect with the public so we can do our best to teach, research, and serve in this new world?

AGB’s Govern NOW initiative commits to work with boards, presidents, board professionals, and all concerned parties now to create the most promising future for ensuing generations.

The bad news: Hope is not a strategy.

Good news! All the experts who have studied this agree: The only strategy that has a chance to turn the tide is grassroots resistance. In our case, grassroots impact comes from decisions made at each institution. We know what to do—we just have to adapt our actions to now.

Good governance is still good governance. What’s needed is more focused attention, practice, and deliberation than ever before. Also courage. Also friends. We are the grass roots; we make a difference.

How? Here are a few ideas:

Ensure that the institution’s mission, and whatever is required to fulfill it, is the crux of each decision. “Mission” means its statement of purpose; its “why we exist.” It answers the question, “Why should society, parents, and students invest here?”
Defend academic freedom, which is universally essential for higher education. Much is already lost, and the losses can be contagious. The situation is disastrous; many people are trying to understand what academic freedom is, not reaching the crucial point that it’s the essence of learning in a free society.
Affirm that independence is claimed, not conferred. We are all in this together. There are no right answers; every situation is unique. Learn principles and methods with peers and others; but don’t just do what works for them.
Delineate the key differences between the roles of boards and executive officers. Nearly all boards struggle to differentiate governing from managing. Most boards are intended to govern with wisdom at the 50,000-foot level, not manage.
Delegate all routine and transactional agenda items to committees and administrative staff. Governing now requires wise courage, trust, and shared vision. That requires time, information, debate, and discussion to focus boards’ meetings on the important external threats.
Invest in continuous governance education for all board members.
Create the future. Accept that the world has changed forever. The past is not a map. The status quo is not a destination. Defending yesterday’s normal is not stewardship. Every decision builds a piece of the future.

Every external demand challenges the board’s authority, but the boards that flourish will treat this disruption not as an existential threat but rather as a mandate to lead. You can help them see that clearly by doing what you always do—whatever is required of you, infused with growing understanding of how to do it given the pressures now and aiming at the future. Now let’s get to it!

*This post is adapted from plenary-session remarks at the AGB Board Professionals Conference in Denver, March 27, 2026.

Ellen-Earle Chaffee, PhD, is an AGB subject matter specialist and senior fellow. She is a former president of Valley City State University and Mayville State University. Earlier, she served as academic vice-chancellor for the North Dakota University System and director of organizational studies at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. She was president of the Association for Institutional Research and the Association for the Study of Higher Education, as well as the public member of the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education. She is a past member of Des Moines University’s board of trustees and served as board member and chair of a major health care system.