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Tool
Safeguarding Institutional Autonomy: A Tool for Boards Facing Political Interference
American colleges and universities are facing intensifying political scrutiny and intervention. Recent events have raised urgent questions about who governs our institutions, and how.
While boards always have the ultimate responsibility for mission stewardship and institutional strategy, they are now being …
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AGB Reports
Top Public Policy Issues Facing Governing Boards in 2025–2026
The most pressing public policy issues facing college and university boards of trustees and foundation boards in 2023 and 2024, in the estimation of the Association of Governing Boards and a higher education advisory panel, are the following: affordability and …
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Podcast
Trusteeship Podcast Episode 53: Board Independence and Neutrality
Aired: January 23, 2025
As colleges and universities face mounting pressures from all directions—donors, politicians, alumni, and various interest groups—the ability of governing boards to maintain their independence has never been more crucial. This autonomy isn't about resisting political influence; it's …
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Blog Post
Board Independence and Leadership
December 03, 2024 -
In November, AGB concluded its webinar series on the Top Strategic Issues for Boards 2024-2025 report. The webinar focused on several themes highlighted in the report, including board independence and leadership.
Higher education governing boards have fiduciary duties mandating them to …
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Trusteeship Article
When Governing Boards Lose Their Independence, They Lose Everything
This column is being written in October as the world is confronting multiple painful wars, and the U.S. national election is only 30 days in the offing. The stakes are high, and the tension is palpable across a very divided …
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Podcast
Trusteeship Podcast Episode 42: Board Independence Under Fire, Part II
Aired: February 29, 2024
Boards play a vital role in protecting the autonomy of the higher education institutions they oversee and proactively navigating any challenges to those institutions’ independence. In the second part of this podcast, “Board Independence Under Fire,” AGB …
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Podcast
Trusteeship Podcast Episode 41: Board Independence Under Fire, Part I
Aired: January 31, 2024
While governing boards need to be open to input and recommendations from their college, foundation, or system’s stakeholders, they must also discern between what’s appropriate and what could compromise their independence and their institution’s mission and integrity.
That’s …
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Toolkit
Influences on Board Independence and Leadership Toolkit
To serve as effective fiduciaries, governing board members must put the best interests of the institution first, to ensure its mission fulfillment and long-term sustainability. While they must be open and listen to a wide range of viewpoints and approaches …
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AGB Board Statements
AGB Board of Directors’ Statement on Influences Impacting Governing Board Independence and Leadership
This statement was approved on November 10, 2023, by the Board of Directors of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. The following principles are intended to guide boards in the governance of colleges, universities, systems, and related foundations; …
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Blog Post
The Decline in Public Confidence and the Rise of Interference in Higher Education
November 30, 2023 -
The last few years have been unsettling for many of us in higher education. For college presidents and governing board members, in particular, there is much to keep them up at night—falling enrollments, changing demographics, the shift in student interests …
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Also in Board Fundamentals
- Academic Affairs
- Board Assessment
- Board Independence and Institutional Autonomy
- Board Roles and Responsibilities
- Board Structure and Culture
- Fiduciary Duties
- Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Leadership Succession and Support
- Orientation
- Presidential Assessment
- The Presidency
- Principles of Trusteeship
- Public Policy
- Shared Governance
- State Profiles