This document contains 20 essential questions that were answered by various community college board members. The following are a few of the questions: (1) Are you prepared to lead your college into the future?; (2) Do you realize the responsibility you carry as a trustee?; (3) Are your Board's practices?best practices?; and (4) How do you avoid…

An outpouring of support--in various forms--was all it took to change the mind of Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, president of Bennett College, who had decided on April 27 to resign from the 132-year-old Black college for women. In a prepared statement, Cole described how it felt to see supporters lined up at the president's house when she returned home…

When the AGB task force on the state of the Presidency in American Higher Education was meeting last fall in Washington, D.C., to deliberate about the role of the academic presidency, the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education convened across town to examine issues ranging from access to affordability to…

The search for a president of Gallaudet University, the only such institution in the world for the deaf, spanned issues of civil rights and university governance. The selection and ultimate rejection of a hearing president occurred because people had different perceptions of what would best serve the university. (MSE)

To help improve the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics's image, its leaders have proposed a package of restrictive measures for consideration at its annual meeting. The regulations would set freshman-eligibility standards, tighten academic-progress rules, put limits on sports seasons and financial aid, and create competitive…

Successful park and recreation organizations rely on citizen boards and commissions whose membership includes effective and efficient leaders. To develop leadership skills, a training program for these boards is described; steps to establish and organize such a program are given. (JL)

Governor Schaefer of Maryland declared that higher education would be the top priority this year. His major proposal was to bring the 13 four-year colleges and universities under the governance of a single board, while limiting the power of the statewide coordinating board and eliminating single campus boards. (MLW)

A plan for all of the state of Maryland's 13 public colleges and universities to be included in the University of Maryland System is discussed. The system would be governed by a board of regents, and each college would have a board of trustees to monitor campus issues. (MLW)

The appointment of a hearing person as president of Gallaudet University, the nation's only university for the deaf, triggered bitter student protests that closed the campus and raised issues of oppression of the deaf community. (MSE)

Data on the governing boards and characteristics of 341 colleges and universities show that the "dominant stratum" of business (individuals with simultaneous influence in several major corporations), rather than business as a whole, has formed an enduring relationship with universities that are oriented toward education of the elite.…

Professors and administrators are vowing to fight what they call the "fundamentalist takeover" of Mercer University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. The "takeovers" are seen as assaults on academic freedom. (MLW)

Demonstrators who shut down the campus of Gallaudet University forced the resignation of the newly elected president, Elizabeth A. Zinser. A better spirit of cooperation between faculty and the administration is expected. (MLW)

This briefing book with appendices was prepared for the initial meetings of the National Library of Education Advisory Task Force (NLE/ATF), in March 1996. An agenda for this meeting is included in the briefing book. The first section, "Governing Authorities for NLE and the Advisory Task Force," contains a copy of Public Law 103-227,…

Although college finance officers are worried about the consequences of a drop in the value of their endowments because of Wall Street fluctuations, most have expressed concern about the effects on the general economy. If the nation has sluggish economic growth, the financial impact on higher education could be severe. (MLW)

This article encourages college presidents and trustees to prepare for public relations challenges by tracking issues through four distinct stages: fringe, emerging, getting hot, and white hot/too late. "Fringe" refers to, for example, people discussing an issue at conferences, in professional publications, or among a few concerned…