Inside AGB

AGB Supports Equitable Student Success in Kentucky

AGB and the John Gardner Institute hosted a conference on February 26 for institutional teams from colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of Kentucky focused on boards and equitable student success. The event was the third convening of the Governing Board Equity in Student Success Academy and was held at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. The multiyear project was made possible with support from the Ascendium Education Foundation in collaboration with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and will continue through spring 2024. A panel presentation on April 4 at AGB’s 2023 National Conference on Trusteeship will share highlights from this joint project on how institutions are engaging their boards, presidents, and key administrators in achieving better and more equitable student outcomes.

New Publication
Assessing Board Readiness to Lead Change in Public Higher Education Systems

Public systems are uniquely positioned to lead transformative change in higher education, both in terms of how public institutions are structured and how academic programs and instruction are delivered. Given the scope of the institutions under system auspices and the scale of students who are enrolled at system-affiliated institutions, systems are vital to shaping the future of American higher education. System boards must therefore be ready to work with system leaders and staff to leverage that scope and scale to lead the kind of strategic transformations needed to deliver more affordable and relevant college degrees.

In this new resource from AGB, Barbara Brittingham, PhD, and James H. Page, PhD, delve into the important prework that system boards must perform to assess their readiness to help identify and lead transformative strategic change. They begin with an overview of the myriad public system boards active across the American higher education landscape. The goal is to enable a system board to identify where it fits within this landscape and therefore understand its capacity for leading change.

Next, the authors present a process for identifying board strengths and weaknesses central to a board’s ability to lead transformative change. The final chapter shows how
to develop action plans to address high-priority gaps and ends with a brief reflection on what to do if a gap cannot be closed.

Each chapter includes templates to help situate the system board in the larger context of the higher education landscape, work through the assessment exercise, and develop effective action plans to close gaps.

The e-book is available online at agb.org.

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Upcoming Events

2023 Board Professionals Conference
March 31–April 2, 2023
San Diego, California

2023 National Conference on Trusteeship
April 2–4, 2023
San Diego, California

2023 Institute for Foundation Board Leaders and Chief Executives
June 11–13, 2023
Minneapolis, Minnesota

2023 Institute for Board Chairs and Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities
June 1–13, 2023
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Welcome New AGB Members

Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania
Eastern Iowa Community College District
Fisher College
Fort Lewis College
Larkin University
Oregon Health & Science University
Roosevelt University
Tennessee State University
Tulsa Community College
UNC Chapel Hill Foundation
University of Bridgeport
Woodmont College

*These are new AGB members that joined between December 21, 2022 through February 2, 2023.

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