How University Boards Work

In How University Boards Work I argue that there should be greater alignment between the following elements in university and college plans in order to achieve optimal effectiveness:

           *Criteria for board membership and the goals and strategies of the institution;

            *Criteria for evaluation of the board and its leadership compared to the goals and strategies of the institutions 

            *Criteria for presidential selection and assessment and the mission of the institution;

            *Criteria for the selection and nurturing of faculty compared to the mission and goals of the institution:

            *Rewards of release time, promotion, tenure, sabbaticals, etc. and the goals for student success;

            *Fulfillment of the institution’s mission and the design of General Education programs and major areas of study;

            *Criteria for defining excellence in courses of study and the expectations of the institution;

            *Goals for fundraising and the priorities expressed in the institution’s mission statement;

            *Budgeting for institutional financial aid (tuition discounting) and the mission of the institution;

            *Priorities for athletics and the mission for academic study:

            *Design of classroom spaces and the philosophy of teaching:

            *The breadth of curricula offerings and fulfillment of the institution’s mission;

            *The scheduling of classes and the priorities for capital spending; etc.       

These and other issues are examined in How University Boards Work. 

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Scott has written a gold standard owners manual for college and university board members. A copy of his book given to every new trustee will add much to their performance and satisfaction of the institutions they help to govern. Bob Scott is the Julia Child of higher educational governance. Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, President Emeritus and University Professor of Public Service, The George Washington University; Co-editor, “Presidencies Derailed: Why University Leaders Fail and How to Prevent It”, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. 

The quote above is one of six book cover blurbs that have been prepared by experts, including also Ms. Terry Andreas, Edward Fiske, Secretary Jeh Charles Johnson, Frank Kurre, and Ira Millstein.

Please send your questions and comments to ras@adelphi.edu.

Robert A. Scott is President Emeritus and University Professor Emeritus, Adelphi University, and President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus, Ramapo College of New Jersey. He also served as Assistant Commissioner, Indiana Commission on Higher Education, and Acting Executive Director, New Jersey Commission on Higher Education. He is also the author of How University Boards Work: A Guide for Trustees, Officers, and Leaders in HIgher Education.