A thorough review conducted by the right person can be a priceless tool for boards and presidents, incumbent and newly appointed, in guiding their institutions. Good reviews often carry more weight than accreditation reports. Article includes a reading list detailing the tools reviewers need to begin an institutional evaluation. (Author/MSE)

Obsession with institutional image, encouraged by the yearly rankings published by a major national news magazine, has led many colleges and universities to use questionable statistics to bolster public relations efforts. Manipulative reporting goes beyond standardized test scores to include athlete graduation rates and any other image-enhancing…

When governing boards address problems piecemeal and develop present-tense solutions, it is thinking operationally, not strategically. A shift to strategic planning involves analyzing the board's use of meeting time, asking bold questions about the institution's purpose, and committing to change. A well-planned retreat can begin the changeover.…

Describes how poor information flow and faulty financial disclosure can stop private institutions of higher education from detecting warnings of financial trouble. Discusses how boards of trustees can prevent such a crisis. (EV)

Spotlights five colleges included in the 1999 report "Presidential Essays: Success Stories--Strategies That Make a Difference at Thirteen Independent Colleges and Universities" from the Council of Independent Colleges and the USA Group Foundation. The institutions are notable for board of trustee participation in the schools'…

Discusses the role of the public library trustees and considers characteristics that are important for successful library boards, including diversity, active participation, knowledge of laws that authorize creation of public libraries and describe the terms and duties of board members, selection and support of a good library director, and…

Presents an ethical decision-making model that can help presidents and boards maneuver through difficult situations. Describes six steps: identifying the ethical dilemma; gathering facts, self-monitoring, and consulting; asking important questions; creating alternate courses of action; evaluating alternatives; and implementing a course of action…

Describes how, although trustees used to shake hands with a new president to seal a deal, both are now insisting on formal terms of employment. (EV)

Meeting with trustees just a few miles from the World Trade Center, the president of Pace University describes how his institution coped with September's terrorist attack. Includes ten lessons learned from the catastrophe. (EV)

Explores whether trustee boards should establish a naming-rights policy for donators of large gifts. Suggests that the beginning of a comprehensive fundraising campaign is a good time to address such standards, and offers factors to keep in mind when making decisions about naming college facilities after donors. (EV)

A former university president and a trustee (who are also father and daughter) apply the rules of good business partnerships to communication between boards and presidents and provide the president and trustee viewpoints on these rules: communicate, be a team, be honest, and be trustworthy. (EV)

The chancellor of a state's community college system works with the college presidents to establish accountability for a common set of goals.

A growing number of colleges and boards of trustees are looking to the future by embracing succession planning as the key to assuring college sustainability in an environment that requires global thinking, strategic planning and political savvy. Once confined to the corporate world or to family businesses, and limited to the CEO, succession…

In this paper, the author describes what might happen if a college got rid of its board of trustees and the faculty became voting partners in running the "corporation." What if there was no board of trustees composed mainly of outsiders? What if the president was chosen by and responsible to the faculty? What, in short, if the faculty owned the…

In this article, the author presents Roger W. Bowen who was a president of the State University of New York at New Paltz, in 1996 and now a general secretary of the American Association of University Professors, that he gave almost no thought to the annual salary of $108,000. Here, his experience as an underpaid president, is familiar to governing…