In this article, Robert M. Gates, former Secretary of Defense and chancellor of the College of William & Mary, makes three observations about public higher education: (1) Over the past generation we have seen a gradual abandonment of the principle that higher education is a public good and the emergence of a view that it is a private consumer…

Public universities are microcosms of the broader trends at work in the society, and they have been for decades. From the wide range of students they educate to the transformative research they develop to their ameliorative impact on local communities, public universities provide a litmus test for the country's ever shifting demographics, mores,…

A Dartmouth University professor puts the tasks that all organizations must perform into three boxes: (1) a box containing those things an institution does to make its core business as excellent as possible; (2) a box of "selective forgetting" for eliminating activities no longer productive or useful; and (3) a box of innovation for selective…

Public college and university foundations are undergoing a significant transition that could change their relationships with the boards and presidents of the institutions with which they are affiliated. Such foundations have been around for over a century. The growth in the value of assets held by foundations, and their increasing significance to…

There are currently three categories of independent colleges and universities: Those that are flush with resources, those that are stable but suffering from the effects of the recession, and those whose financial stress has been exacerbated to the breaking point. In this article, the author poses solutions that may represent useful options for…

Most economists expect the current economic downturn to be one of the most severe since World War II. In fact, there is a very real danger that the changing circumstances of students, families, state and federal governments, and educational institutions could interact to significantly diminish educational opportunity in the United States. The most…

Discusses how declining state appropriations, rising demands for access, and steady pressures for new accountability have cast public higher education in a new light. Offers ways of dealing with the implications of these trends. (EV)

The style of most public university governing boards is perfunctory policymaking, when it should be concerned with making dynamic improvements to create a more responsive institution. Many public university trustees are simply unaware of the sweeping nature of their governance responsibilities, and many important issues never show up on board…

Urges governing boards at public colleges and universities to support budgeting for performance as a means of assuring public accountability while protecting academic autonomy. Considers performance incentives, the role of performance indicators, the distinction between performance funding and performance budgeting, possible problems, and the role…

The Fashion Institute of Technology (New York) is developing a Center for Design Innovation to nurture start-up of design firms and facilitate contacts between firms and clothing manufacturers, but its primary purpose is to generate revenue for the college. The evolution of the center and the lessons learned that may be useful to other public…

Discusses the changing missions of public comprehensive universities and regional colleges in terms of access to education and economic development, the economic context faced by college graduates today, general skills needed for the 21st century careers and life, and the importance of collaboration with other social institutions. (DB)

Five public higher-education officials, including a former lawmaker, discuss how "citizen boards" of public colleges and universities deal with the inherent conflicts and ambiguities between the interests and ambitions of their institution and the financial, strategic, and public-policy demands of their state. They describe how they…

This article argues that the debate over the public's right to know versus a public college or university's need to make some decisions in private often generates more heat than light, and that the most important interactions put at risk by open-meeting acts and sunshine laws involve board dynamics. Some suggestions are made for minimizing this…

Public colleges and universities increasingly raise private funds through institutional foundations. A healthy relationship between governing and foundation boards requires open communication, regular interaction, and shared information. The fulcrum of this relationship is the college's president, who has specific responsibilities toward each…

The author of recommended reforms for public college and university governing boards that had been outlined in an Association of Governing Boards policy paper, responds to criticism of the reform strategies and expands on his suggestions in four areas: the call for larger boards; merit selection of trustees; greater trustee philanthropy; and…