A college is only as strong as its board of trustees.
While the media frequently report on threats facing colleges and
universities, no sector of higher education is in more danger than
private colleges with small endowments and low enrollments. Numerous
small private liberal arts colleges could benefit from careful
consideration of characteristics and practices of successful
trusteeship.
In How Boards Lead Small Colleges, Alice Lee Williams Brown and
Elizabeth Richmond Hayford focus on small colleges--the kind that seldom
attract the attention of researchers. Integrating case studies with
theoretical analyses of college governance, they explain the basic
responsibilities of boards while demonstrating how some develop
practices that fulfill these responsibilities more effectively than
others. The book emphasizes strategic planning and collaboration between
the board and central administration--advice useful to those governing
colleges and universities of all sizes and strengths.
For decades, the authors led consortia of small colleges and served on
boards of multiple nonprofit organizations. Here, they interview
trustees and presidents at dozens of small colleges across multiple
states to identify the role governing boards play in building strong
private colleges. Encouraging presidents to consider new approaches for
working with their boards based on mutual dedication to strengthening
institutions, Brown and Hayford also urge trustees to challenge new
thinking from their presidents without interfering in internal
operations. How Boards Lead Small Colleges is designed to appeal to
anyone with a special interest in the future of small private colleges,
which play a critical role in the world of higher education.
