Examines causes of mistrust between a board of directors of a child care center and child care staff. Presents ways in which a center director can help build positive relations between board and staff members. (RWB)

The key to fund raising is the donor, and fund raisers should learn to cultivate potential donors, approach them with goals compatible with their own, supplement their thinking, get them involved, and swamp them with gratitude. (MSE)

A discussion of the special challenges facing minority board members is adapted from a session given a AGB's San Francisco conference. The session, moderated by Marian Oldman, included observations from John E. King, Hardy Liston, Jr., and Yori Wada. (Author/MLW)

Good working relationships with governors and state legislators are extremely important to trustees. It is important to approach the governor and legislators mindful of and sympathetic to the state's total needs. (MLW)

The problem that presidents and trustees face with their attorneys centers on education leaders' unfamiliarity with legal matters. Presidents and trustees must rely on lawyers for legal advice but should not delegate to attorneys the authority to make administrative and management decisions. (MLW)

Reports on a national survey of the 918 female community college trustees, highlighting personal characteristics, problems faced by women on community college boards, ways of overcoming barriers to effective participation, training needs, and perceptions of personal input and impact on decision making. (AYC)

This essay discusses use of an employment contract to serve and protect the interests of both a library director and the library board of trustees. Current problems, advantages of a contract to the board, board solidarity, advantages to the director, the workings of contracts, legal necessities, and limiting tenure are highlighted. (EJS)

In 2004, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) surveyed higher education governing boards in the United States regarding board composition and selected polices and practices. This report summarizes the data and examines trends for independent college and university governing boards, based on surveys completed by…

The Effective Committees set of booklets comprises publications on the following committees: investment, buildings and grounds, academic affairs, student affairs, finance, development, trustees, audit, compensation, and executive. It is part of the AGB Board Basics Series. This report describes the primary role of an audit committee. The primary…

Like other states, Virginia has faced serious economic challenges. In recent years, the state has had to close $6 billion in budget shortfalls. Early in Governor Mark Warner's administration, he and his administration came to an important conclusion: while money matters, the quality of higher education depends on the quality of its leaders--its…

Traditionally, new board members have taken up roles that were established and well-defined long ago. But globalization swiftly and utterly changed that mindset. Institutions now are directly affected by events occurring thousands of miles away, and it is no longer possible to rely solely on long-standing, accepted board practices to provide good…

American higher education has never been more in need of good governance than it is right now. Yet much of the structure many boards have inherited or created tends to stall or impede timely, well-informed, and broadly supported decision making. At many institutions (ours included), layers of governance have been added with each passing year,…

The mission of this review is to appraise the new draft NAEP science framework and to determine whether it is up to snuff. This is an evaluation of the September 30, 2005, draft document, Science Framework for the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (Framework), developed for the National Assessment Governing Board. The criteria is…

This annual report describes the goals and activities of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB). The AGB is dedicated to strengthening the performance of boards of public and independent colleges and universities and to advancing the practice of citizen trusteeship that distinguishes U.S. higher education. This…

This guide for the governing boards of independent institutions discusses conducting a comprehensive fund-raising campaign. A comprehensive fund-raising campaign is broader and more strategic than past capital fund raising campaigns. Its financial goals include all potential gifts from annual fund donors, all gifts for the endowment, all gifts for…