Short takes

AGB_Online goes interactive!

With this issue, you can comment directly on the essay by David Bass, “Money Talks” and on the transcript of the audio interview with Claire Gaudiani and Richard Legon. Using CommentPress, software developed by the Institute for the Future of the Book, you can comment on each article as a whole or on specific paragraphs side-by-side with the original text—plus you can view other comments by interested readers. It’s easy… just click on the "Comment on this article" links provided with each piece.

Successful fund-raising:
What presidents and trustees need to know
A special all-day preconference workshop offered at the AGB 2008 National Conference on Trusteeship, Boston, Massachusetts, April 12-15, 2008.

As presidents and trustees, how do you ensure your institution has an efficient and successful fund-raising program? What is your role in raising money? How do you evaluate your institution's development efforts? How does fundiraising work? A private college president and a public university advancement vice president will lead you through the essentials of successful educational philanthropy.

Leaders of this critical workshop are Elizabeth A. Flanagan, vice president for development and university relations, Virginia Tech, and Peyton R. Helm, president, Muhlenberg College.

For details on the program and how to register, click here or call Jessie Oplak, registrar, at 202-776-0840.

AGB new board members

Elizabeth Ballantine (Grinnell College). Elizabeth Ballantine is a lawyer with EBA Associates in Washington, D.C., and an adjunct professor of Russian history at The George Washington University. Earlier she specialized in international trade as special counsel at the law firm of Dickstein, Shapiro, Morin, and Oshinsky in Washington, D.C. She also has served as staff attorney at the Central Intelligence Agency and as a staff writer at The Des Moines Register and The Durango (Colorado) Herald.

Ballantine holds a J.D. from American University and a B.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University. She is a member of the Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa Council of Advisors and a trustee of the Gardner and Florence Call Cowles Foundation. Ms. Ballantine is director of McClatchy Newspapers, Inc. in Sacramento, California, and a trustee of the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C.

Rita Bornstein (President Emerita, Rollins College). Dr. Rita Bornstein served as 13th president of Rollins College from 1990 to 2004, the first woman to hold that office. In 2001, she was named to the George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Chair of Distinguished Presidential Leadership when Rollins received a $10-million gift for the first endowment of a college presidency in the nation. At the conclusion of her 14-year presidency, she was named President Emerita and appointed to the George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Chair of Philanthropy and Leadership Development.

Under President Bornstein's leadership, Rollins focused on strengthening its commitment to excellence, innovation, and community. Standards were raised for faculty evaluation, student selectivity, and all aspects of administration. Average SAT scores for entering Arts & Sciences students rose more than 65 points and Rollins' place in U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings of "America's Best Colleges" climbed from #6 regional university in the South to #2, and, in Florida, to #1.

President Bornstein also oversaw Rollins' most ambitious fundraising effort. Thanks to the generosity of donors, including the largest gift in Rollins' history and astute financial management, the college's endowment more than quintupled during Bornstein's presidency.

A recognized leader in higher education, Dr. Bornstein regularly consults on issues of leadership, governance, and fundraising in the nonprofit sector. She is also the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters and two books, including Legitimacy in the Academic Presidency.

Trusteeship column roundup 2007

Selected columns from the past year of Trusteeship:

Legal standpoint:

• “IRS Considering Broader Scrutiny of Endowments, UBIT Rules,” by Pamela J. Bernard. Boards should prepare for demand for greater disclosure and deeper government review of spending. For example, the IRS could require institutions to disclose the percentage of revenues they actually spend for charitable activities, how much business they do with related corporations and other business ventures, more details about any enhancements to executive pay, and more information about their endowments. Read the article...
• “IRS Continues Enforcement Focus on Executive Compensation,” by Dorothy K. Robinson. Results for the IRS’s Executive Compensation Compliance Initiative underscore why it is essential that governing boards ensure that the compensation they award to chief executives and others is appropriate under federal tax law. Read the article...

View from the board chair:

• “Stay Alert to Financial Oversight and Risk Assessment on the Audit Trail,” by Andrea J. Loughry. Our board has learned two lessons that yours should take to heart: Boards that wait passively for an annual report on institutional spending are coming to their information too late to steer the ship. And the modern-day demand that boards actively engage in enterprise risk management requires a renewed focus on and approach to the audit process. Read the article...
• “Price Matters Some, But Value Matters Most,” by Harriet King. In setting tuition, boards must define the college’s value, the students who will benefit, and how we can link those students to our institutions. The discussion needs to change from frantic rhetoric about price to concerned dialogue about value and fit. Read the article...

Focus on the presidency:

• “Planting a Branch Campus Abroad Can End Up a Boom or a Bust,” by Lawrence S. Bacow. Offers to build a campus abroad are tempting to American colleges and universities seeking to expand their influence and generate new sources of revenue. But boards should note that they are not without risks. Read the article...

AGB | 1133 20th St. N.W., Suite 300 | Washington, DC 20036 | 202.296.8400; 800.356.6317