Closing programs is the most severe of the three strategies campuses typically consider during difficult financial times: generating new revenue, making across-the-board spending cuts, or undertaking targeted cuts. Closures of academic programs can have lasting negative fallout and the savings may not be as great as anticipated, but at certain points--and if done well--closures can provide an opportunity to refocus the institution. While campus leaders typically are the primary drivers of the initial decisions to close programs and to craft the processes of doing so, boards of trustees have important roles to fulfill that can advance the efforts. Program closure is a difficult decision, and looking at past lessons can be helpful for today's boards and campus leaders. Case studies that the author conducted on the last round of academic program closures during the fiscal stresses of the 1990s--at the University of Maryland at College Park, Oregon State University, Kent State University, and the University of Rochester--produced several considerations that may aid boards and administrations weighing program closures today or in the future. In this article, the author discusses some of these considerations and offers tips for boards of trustees considering closing academic programs.