95: Building Consequential Boards with Dr. Richard Chait

Over the past month, we've talked with university presidents, trustees, and faculty, cultivating a dialog around building strong relationships between institutional leadership. In the face of strained board-president relationships, diffused shared governance practices, challenging financial and regulatory environment, stresses on the balance of leadership abound.

In light of the search for this careful balance of accountability, authority, and responsibility at the top, our conversation today focuses on the role of the board in helping the institution improve its decision-making prowess, provide leadership and vision at the strategic level, and above all else, to be consequential in the ongoing development and growth of the institution. What does it take to build a consequential board? What should we expect of the board of 2020? And what sort of impact does the board need to have in higher education?

This week we welcome Richard Chait to Navigating Change. Dr. Chait is Professor Emeritus of Higher Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and co-author of “Consequential Boards: Adding Value Where It Matters Most” published by AGB.

Links & Notes

• Consequential Boards — AGB Report

About Richard Chait

Richard Chait (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin), Professor Emeritus at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Chair of COACHE's National Advisory Council, studies the management and governance of colleges and universities. Chait has expertise on terms and conditions of faculty employment, including promotion and tenure procedures, academic freedom, and faculty evaluation. He also studies the roles, responsibilities, and performance of boards of trustees, and has written on faculty work life. For over 20 years, Chait has taught in HGSE's summer institute programs for executives in higher education. He has been a professor at the University of Maryland and at Case Western Reserve University, and was formerly associate provost at Pennsylvania State University. In 2001, Chait was selected by the Fulbright New Zealand Board of Directors as a Fulbright U.S. Distinguished American Scholar. In 2005, Chait received the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Academic Leadership Award and a Research Writing Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). His recent books include Governance as Leadership (with W. Ryan and B. Taylor) (2004) and The Questions of Tenure, ed. (2002).

Photo Credit: Harvard Library by Matthias Rosenkranz — Creative Commons License

89: Datapoints — Learning to Love your Institutional Research with Loyola's Terra Schehr

Do you know your institutional research team? If not, you should. This question of data, and how we use it most appropriately and effectively is becoming an ever-increasing tool in driving change. But what comes with data is complexity. 

Today on the show, we welcome Terra Schehr, Assistant Vice President of Institutional Research and Effectiveness at Loyola University Maryland. Terra shares her experience leading the IR team in demonstrating and serving the institution through data. Terra is being asked to collect and report new kinds of data — and reflects on some of her practices in benchmarking and longitudinal data around lifelong student experience. It’s a fascinating conversation on an incredibly powerful set of tools in service of institutional growth and change.

75: Building Outstanding Consulting Partnerships

Howard Teibel

When navigating complex change initiatives, there may come a time when your team will face the challenge of calling on outside support for expertise, guidance, and potentially even leadership as you cruise uncertain institutional waters. How do you engage the right support, at the right time, in the right capacity? 

This week on Navigating Change, Howard Teibel shares his experience in building outstanding relationships with external consultants as a consultant himself. From setting clear boundaries for communication, to taking on key strategic responsibilities, Howard’s insights offer a keen view into what makes a consultative partnership valuable in achieving the strategic goals of the institution.

71: UNE's Nicole Trufant on Communicating for Clarity at EACUBO 2014

There are two fundamental considerations when communicating complex information from the business office. First, do you have the right data for your audience. Second, are you communicating that data using the right tools. Our special guest Nicole Trufant has been polishing her communications practice from the business office as Vice President for Fiscal Affairs at University of New England  Next month, Nicole will join Howard Teibel on stage at the EACUBO 2014 Annual Meeting in Orlando as presenting, “Communicating Strategically to Make and Impact.”

This week on the show, Nicole joins Howard and Pete Wright to discuss how the role and responsibility of the business officer has changed in the last decade, and shares insights into her daily work to support her president, administration, faculty, students and parents across the institution. 

Join the Teibel Team at the EACUBO 2014 Annual Meeting! We'll be recording live at the Cheers Reception on Monday evening, October 20. Come by and join the conversation, share your insights with Howard and Pete, and have a few well-earned laughs at the end of a long day of learning!

About Nicole L. Labbe-Trufant

Nicole Trufant serves as the Vice President for Fiscal Affairs at the University of New England (UNE).  UNE was named as the 9th fastest Master's growing institution in the country by the Chronicle of Higher Education.  Nicole leads all functional areas of finance and general accounting, resource planning and budget, human resources, legal affairs, student financial services and information technology services. Nicole is a CPA.  She holds a BS in Accounting and BA in Sociology from the University of Southern Maine, an MSM in Management from New England College and is a graduate of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education Institute of Executive Management.