“The urgent should not eclipse the important.” These words of good advice, along with the framework and content of “Four Steps to Direct the Board’s Attention: Find, Frame, Focus, and Facilitate,” were properly attributed to Harvard Emeritus Professor Richard Chait, PhD, in a July 20, 2022, AGB blog post by Carol A. Cartwright, PhD, AGB senior fellow and senior consultant (https://agb.org/blog-post/what-keeps-you-up-at-night). Regrettably, the column “On My Agenda: Harnessing the Impact of Board Members’ Expertise,” written by AGB President and CEO Henry Stoever in the July/August 2023 issue of Trusteeship magazine, used these same words and ideas without crediting Chait. When AGB was contacted with an allegation of plagiarism in this column, the AGB Board of Directors conducted an investigation and found that the material was indeed used without appropriate attribution. Henry has accepted responsibility for this action, and the column has been removed from AGB’s website.
The board and Henry determined that a change in executive leadership at AGB was necessary, and as a result, Henry has stepped down as president and CEO of AGB. We appreciate his many contributions during his four years of service as AGB’s president.
In addition, AGB will reevaluate and strengthen its editorial standards, policies, and procedures for verifying that AGB publications at all times respect and properly attribute the words and ideas of others. In our world of instant mass communication and with the rapid implementation of artificial intelligence, this is now more important than ever. We know that we can do better, and we will.
The Board of Directors
Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
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