Many of our universities use school- or college-level
external advisory boards (EABs) for a variety of reasons. Some departments
employ such boards as well. Academically related areas where boards can be
particularly useful are providing curricular advice to academic departments,
assessing the quality of graduates, and offering employment opportunities and
internships or other forms of engagement to students. These board roles are
particularly relevant for professional schools (e.g., business) and programs (e.g.,
IT-related) that prepare students for specific workplaces or positions in which
changes in knowledge and skills are anticipated and must be addressed
immediately. Other board roles may include providing insight into material and
fiscal opportunities, such as the donation of used equipment, industry grants,
and contract work that may otherwise be available to outside bidders; assisting
with philanthropy, both corporate and individual; offering advice on dealing
with the local political environment; providing feedback on new initiatives;
and being conduits to their colleagues and other well-placed individuals on the
excellence and value of the institution and school (or department).
While all these outcomes promise to be of great value to an institution and school, it seems that in many cases EABs fail to regularly produce them. At least in the cases with which we are familiar, this is due to avoidable flaws in the establishment of the EAB and how it operates. We have taken several steps that have resulted in the creation of a successful EAB at the Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis School of Science. In Part 1 of this article, we discuss establishing the board; in Part 2, forthcoming next month, we will reveal ways to maintain the board’s interest and enthusiasm.
To be successful—for instance, to increase philanthropy,
raise the institution’s profile and reputation, or increase engagement with the
community—the board should comprise individuals who are of sufficient stature
to influence colleagues in their organization as well as other highly placed individuals
in the community and who demonstrate enthusiastic commitment to the institution
and school. The dean (or academic chair) should be active and comfortable
working with individuals from outside higher education (external visibility
required) and would be responsible for creating the enthusiasm and excitement
about the institution and school that the board members would reflect in their
work on behalf of the school. Board members who are not in prominent positions
within their organizations or who serve on boards to check a box on their
employee records or to add a line to the resume generally do not work well.
Likewise, deans who shun external visibility and who are not attentive to promoting
the board’s work might have less successful outcomes.
Assembling the EAB
Let’s start the cycle with the recruitment of a new dean. Major
variables include whether the dean is an internal hire or comes from a distance
and whether there is an existing board. An internal dean has the advantage of
familiarity with at least a subset of the board and with some external contacts
in the community. External deans would be starting at ground zero, which means
they should consider meeting with the board chair prior to starting their appointments.
From there, introductions to other board members and key community constituents
could be arranged. It is important that a new, functional board be established
in a timely fashion so that neither momentum nor opportunity is lost.
Again, assuming the existence of an EAB, the new dean would typically
call a board meeting to tell board members what the school expects of them and
what goals the school needs their help to achieve. Under normal circumstances, a
savvy dean will invite all board members to continue their service on the board
knowing that some will choose this time to withdraw. The changing of school
leadership allows those who have served for several years to give others the
opportunity to participate. It also is a time when board members whose
interests and loyalties lie with the previous dean and those who are not enamored
of the new board expectations can gracefully bow out. This transitionary
process should leave the dean with a core of experienced, committed board
members—and perhaps several vacancies. A major, initial goal for the dean and
the board will be to fill those vacancies with the right people.
The dean can contribute to the board by keeping an eye out for
board talent as she makes her rounds in external settings, both professional
and social. During these gatherings the dean must be prepared to list the accomplishments
of the school and its faculty, summarize the successes of its graduates,
project her vision and future goals, and indicate where she will require assistance
to achieve these ends. This type of disclosure will typically result in side
conversations at the event or subsequent ones with individuals who are
intrigued by the prospects for success and who have ideas about how to make them
a reality. Conversations would continue between the dean and these individuals,
and a request to serve on the board may be made. It should be understood that recruiting
individuals to serve on the board in terms of benefit gained is not a one-way
street. Many of those recruited are with large organizations that employ many people,
and the better the local source of talent, the easier it is for them to
identify great candidates. As highly placed individuals in the local community,
these board candidates are also interested in seeing the region prosper, so
many are pleased to help even when their organizations do not benefit directly.
Similarly, individuals who come from different disciplines (e.g., a high-placed
area lawyer serving a nursing college EAB) can add considerable value to a
board because they operate with the overall value to the community in mind.
The existing board members can also make major contributions
to filling out or expanding the board. These individuals routinely interact
with similarly placed peers within their organizations and with counterparts in
other organizations. As part of their charge, board members can bring up the
institution and the school at appropriate times during conversations about new
hires, innovative technology, employee needs, research findings, and related
topics. Those whose interest is piqued by the discussion’s university and school
components could make excellent board prospects. The board member will report this
interest to the dean, who can arrange through the board member to meet the potential
candidate. Many deans will do this even if there is no urgency to create or
fill a position on the board. Unless there are limitations on board
appointments, it is wise to bring an outstanding individual onto the board
immediately rather than wait for a board vacancy.
Alumni are another potential source of board members. This
represents a common starting point should there be no existing board at the
time of the new dean’s appointment. In keeping with the previous option of
appointing difference-makers in the community, the first alumni on the list should
be successful alumni who own their own businesses, who are highly placed in their
organizations, or who have significant public recognition (e.g., entertainers,
former athletes, and politicians). Alumni come with institutional and school
enthusiasm and commitment and are very familiar with its culture and many of
its people. They make excellent representatives of the school and its quality.
Right-sizing and board
composition
The final questions about establishing an EAB are how large
it should be and whether the school has preferences about member background,
affiliation, and personal characteristics. Size is a matter of the dean’s
preference. Each discipline within the school should have a board member who
can both represent it and recognize external opportunities for it. This does
not mean a board member for each discipline; one person can do these things for
related disciplines. A key consideration is having a board that elicits input
from everyone at its meetings. Thus, modest-sized boards composed of the right
individuals are probably best. Whatever the decided size, the dean should
exercise the option to bring on additional members who promise to bring
exceptional opportunity to the school.
There are occasions when everyone acknowledges that the
school should have a board member from a specific organization. For example, a school
of science located 20 miles from a major manufacturer of research instruments would
certainly be well-served with a board member from the company. Likewise, a
school with a clinical psychology program located near a facility specializing
in treating mental illness would welcome a board member from that institution. These
two examples alone increase opportunities for research collaborations, internships,
instrument access and acquisition, curricular and training feedback, and
employment for graduates.
The final consideration in establishing an EAB is what its overall composition should be. Even with recent advances in diversity, the great majority of our organizations remain headed by white males. But women and people of different ethnicities have been rising in the ranks of corporations and other external entities. The CEOs at most of these organizations, even if they believe fervently in the institution and school, will not have the time to devote to the cause and instead will suggest a VP or unit director to serve on the board. The business world is well aware that organizations generate better ideas and reach better decisions when discussions involve a culturally, racially, and gender-diverse mix of participants. In their discussions with the CEO, the dean or board members can indicate a preference that helps to satisfy the diversity interest. Other ways to ensure diversity on the EAB are to select alumni to serve and to use the university’s list of women- and minority-owned businesses (which many institutions compile to ensure that all aspects of the private sector reap the benefits of the goods and services the institution requires) to identify potential board candidates.
N. Douglas Lees, PhD,
is professor and chair emeritus of biology and former associate dean for
planning and finance in the School of Science at Indiana University–Purdue
University Indianapolis.
Lindsay N. Heinzman is
executive director of development and alumni affairs in the School of Science
at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis.
Simon J. Rhodes, PhD,
is provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of North
Florida and former dean of the School of Science at Indiana University–Purdue
University Indianapolis.
