When Miami attorney Larry R. Handfi eld joined the board of trustees of Bethune-Cookman University, the oversight drill for trustees of the small, historically Black liberal arts institution in Florida was routine as it was for most schools around the country: ensure the president was not running amok with the school’s money or mission, help put out occasional “fires,” and secure or deliver a favor to and from the school on occasion.
Today, nearly a decade later, the role of trustees has changed dramatically for Handfi eld and his 35-member board at Bethune-Cookman University. The same can be said for the thousands around the country who volunteer as trustees at various colleges and universities.
“You can’t just sit back and put fi res out,” says Handfield, a 1978 graduate of Bethune-Cookman who began his term as chairman of the school’s board of trustees in July. “You (trustees) have to set policies, make sure they are implemented and set checks and balances,” Handfield says.
In this troubled economy, trustees are also expected to help find dollars to replace those lost from shrinking tuition and investment income and declining support from cash-strapped corporations, foundations and individuals.
“It’s now become more of a responsibility of the board to step up to the plate,” Handfield says.
Handfield’s assessment of the new landscape facing boards of trustees is similar to the sentiments widely held by trustees at other universities, higher education analysts and consultants, and trade groups. They say a combination of factors have converged this decade to force trustees into a greater level of engagement and accountability. The factors range from more frequent turnover of school presidents to increased government and accrediting oversight requirements and, now, the economy. “
Today’s fiscal crisis is compelling boards to ask different kinds of questions about strategic priorities and whether the schools are able to support those priorities in today’s economic environment,” says Rick Lagone, president of the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) of Universities and Colleges, the nation’s major group of college and university trustees. “This is a crisis unlike anybody alive has ever seen. It’s new and its impact on higher education is still playing out.”
