A Mutually Beneficial Relationship
For college presidents, sitting on corporate boards is a way to stay in touch with industry; meanwhile, industry stays plugged into the higher education market.
By Christina Asquith
It’s quite a coup for university presidents to land on corporate boards. Dr. Shirley A. Jackson, president of Rennsalear Polytechnic Institute, for example, sits on the boards of at least five companies, including IBM, FedEx, Marathon Oil, Medtronic and Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.
Howard University President H. Patrick Swygert, and presidents Johnnetta B. Cole, Walter E. Massey and William R. Harvey — of Bennett College, Morehouse College and Hampton University, respectively — together sit on an impressive number of corporate boards.
What makes college and university presidents attractive corporate board members? For one, they deal with a broad and diverse constituency that includes students, professors, parents, community leaders, politicians and alumni — and they bring that management and consensus-building expertise to the boardroom.
