March 19, 2025 - Michael Townsley’s Small College Guide to Financial Health: Weathering Turbulent Times (NACUBO, 2009) offers an alternative way to pose Eric Denna’s inquiry regarding, “Where the institution is today, but more importantly where it is headed?” In his chapter on strategic …

March 10, 2025 - Higher education boards play a pivotal role in shaping an institution's vision and long-term strategy regardless of how the board is set up. For a board to effectively exercise its authority, each member must be motivated and inspired to actively …

March 05, 2025 - While judging the resiliency of an institution’s governance structure to deal with economic and political dislocation is a prerequisite in today’s higher education climate, comprehending the properties of its business model and how it may need to evolve in the …

February 28, 2025 - It is ironic or perhaps well-timed that AGB is hosting this year’s Board Professionals Conference in Chicago—one of the great “epicenter” cities of the country. “Epicenter” is symbolic of who we are as board professionals. In each of our campus …

February 26, 2025 - AGB has advocated for college and university governing boards to prepare policies, practices, and communications in advance to enable timely decisions when incidents of campus unrest occur. An October 2024 blog post highlighted the tensions between the First Amendment, on …

February 24, 2025 - The Association of Governing Boards (AGB) is one of the most influential organizations shaping the leadership and governance of higher education institutions across the United States. For over a century, AGB has provided essential guidance to college and university governing …

February 21, 2025 - For close to two decades, it has been an honor to serve as an AGB consultant. This connection began shortly after my first retirement, which I have flunked twice, and it continues to this day. In addition to leading two …

February 13, 2025 - What influenced your decision to become a president? One afternoon earlier in my career, the president’s chief of staff at the institution where I then worked asked me to send her a memorandum describing all my major achievements as a vice …

February 12, 2025 - You are viewing the Institution and Systems version of this CEO Update. An Institutionally Related Foundation version is also available. While I was not a scout, I have three Eagle Scout sons, and I do ascribe to the adage “be prepared.” …

February 04, 2025 - To be effective strategic thought partners for their institution’s leaders, higher education governing board members need a working knowledge of the current business model for their institution as well as have confidence in the institutional levers presidents and chief financial …