Dormitories, student centers, lecture halls, laboratories, athletic facilities, quads--just try to imagine a residential campus without them. Impossible. They are among its most important assets. As fiduciaries, boards must ensure that those assets are protected and enhanced over time. But how to do so effectively when growing internal and external pressures on higher education institutions make that more challenging today than ever before? A key element of facilities stewardship is preservation of the value of capital assets through ensuring: (1) the adequate funding of, and efficiency in, facilities operations and maintenance; (2) the renewal of such assets through repairs and replacements; and (3) long-range planning for new construction and major renovations. But "value" has broader implications than just financial ones, including the value a governing board ascribes to the protection of symbolic, even iconic, campus features as well as the continued utility of buildings and grounds for the functions they serve. In short, facilities stewardship is about taking a long and broad view of an institution's past and future. It forms the backdrop for hundreds of discrete investment and management decisions with many implications, both visible and invisible, for a campus. Boards can best fulfill their responsibilities as facilities stewards by following six basic principles, including linking long-range capital planning with strategic priorities and creating credibility for capital-investment decisions. These principals are described herein. (Lists 1 resource.)