Shared Governance

When boards get pulled into campus controversies, how they choose to interact with their administrations, students, faculty, staff, and alumni can shape assessment of their effectiveness and usefulness. Upholding transparency and openness can demonstrate boards’ commitment to serving their institutions …

Effective shared governance is hard work that requires an explicit commitment to understanding the differing responsibilities and vantage points of boards, administrations, and faculty. However, the vantage points of each are not monolithic. As the individuals making up the institution’s …

Much has been written about shared governance in higher education, most often from the perspective of the interplay between the president and the board or that of the faculty and the board. Given the realities of demographic and economic pressures …

Governing board members face increasing, and sometimes competing, pressures to govern better, while also working to enhance their effectiveness as advocates and fundraisers. They are expected to bring specialized skills and experiences to the board table, while also giving more …

Tuesday, October 10, 2017 The following text is excerpted from the introduction. Download the full statement. One of higher education's most distinctive values is its commitment to shared governance. Simply put, shared governance is a fundamental principle of inclusion in key areas of …

A little over two years ago, in the midst of a serious crisis at the state university where I had been a member of the board of trustees for more than eight years, the sudden illness of our board chair …

College and university board members are often asked to leverage the expertise that they have acquired in their careers to benefit the institutions on whose boards they serve. Whether they recognize it or not, trustees are in an alliance with …

Shared governance is one of the basic tenets of higher education, and yet there is considerable evidence that it is not generally well understood by its primary participants—faculty members, presidents, and members of boards of trustees. This report provides qualitative information …

Technology has been celebrated by digital innovators, policymakers, and the news media as offering solutions to the many challenges facing higher education. The touted benefits abound: e-learning platforms remove scheduling and geographic barriers to access, and help faculty to address …

Between the two of us, we have served more than two decades as college presidents, learning a few things along the way—including that maintaining a sense of humor about the job is key. Here are 10 reflections on issues that …