The American college presidency is examined, with attention to characteristics of those who become college presidents, how long they serve and where they go after leaving the presidency, and internal/external factors affecting their performance. The analysis is based in part on 800 interviews with presidents, their spouses, and other close…

The policy-making and administrative roles of trustees and presidents are distinguished. The level of policy at which trustees should operate is dependent on the college's size and complexity and whether it is public or private. Trustee responsibilities of soliciting funds and selecting a president are acts of implementation in pursuit of a…

The important role played by trustees of seminaries and the recruitment of these leaders are considered. The serious financial problems facing the board of directors has focused attention on the role and scope of seminary trusteeship. Leadership is needed by trustees to address issues of declining enrollments, curricula that address theological…

The responsibilities and structure of the college governing board's nominating committee are discussed. Five responsibilities are addressed: helping the board determine its composition in terms of influence, diversity, and talents; maintaining a viable list of candidates and cultivating top prospects; overseeing the orientation and deployment of…

Guidelines for college governing boards who are searching for the chief executive officer for a seminary, school of theology, or divinity school are presented. The seminary president will assume most of the tasks of a president in a private postsecondary institution. In addition, important considerations for a seminary president are: attending to…

The makeup of college and university governing boards and the characteristics of board members were studied in 1985, as an update of a 1977 survey. A total of 215 single-campus boards and 157 multicampus boards provided information that was statistically adjusted to represent the traits of the 2,200 boards governing of the nation's 3,000 nonprofit…

This report, a brief summary of a definitive study on the organizational, administrative, and operational patterns of 283 State Boards responsible for 1,268 institutional units of higher education, presents information on the types of boards in each State, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories and possessions, and classifies the types of…

This paper suggests some steps to be taken by trustees in (1) getting rid of a college president, (2) hiring a new one, and (3) retaining him. These are: (1) a periodic review of presidential effectiveness, which can lead to a peaceful change of office after the incumbent has served his usefulness; (2) determination of qualifications possessed by…

A "trustee" means different things to different people. Some have suggested abolishing Boards of Trustees and handing all power to the students and faculty. Yet, if the University is to remain a center of learning and free inquiry, it will be easier to preserve this function with the support of a dedicated board of lay trustees. One responsibility…

The purpose of this investigation was to obtain the names and addresses of members of governing boards of all 4-year colleges and universities in the US in order to provide data on the distribution of trustees by sex, by state of institutions served, and by region of residence. The list was then to be recorded to serve as a universe for future…

This bibliography of 96 items on governance and control of colleges and universities centers mainly on the role and character of trustees and trusteeships. However, items are also included on the administration of church-related institutions, and the roles of students and faculty in governance. The items are drawn from publications appearing from…

This booklet, intended for junior and community college trustees, contains three addresses given this year at a special conference for two-year college trustees, a paper based on a national survey of community college trustees, reaction to that paper, and a selected bibliography of articles, studies, and dissertations by lay governance of the…

The responsibilities and problems confronting college and university trustees in the last quarter of the 20th century are considered. The following topics are briefly addressed: increased enrollments after World War II, the growth of community colleges, the establishment of state coordinating commissions, political influences, federal support and…

Enrollment projections and the economic environment of higher education are analyzed, along with questions that trustees should ask. Factors that affect enrollment projections are addressed, and trend data at the national, regional, and state levels are presented. Demographic considerations include: future age distribution of the population, past…

Model bylaws for independent colleges are presented to assist the institutions in writing or revising their own bylaws. The model is designed to provide the basis, and not to be taken verbatim, for discussion on the form of governance that may be established by private institutions. The bylaw articles concern: powers of trustees; membership of…