Dr. Claudia Hampton was the first Black woman to serve on the California State University Board of Trustees and was a key force in the fight for affirmative action in the CSU system. Hampton gained the trust of her predominantly male, white fellow board members by employing “sly civility.” In this podcast, AGB Executive Vice President Mary Papazian, former President of San Jose State University, speaks with Dr. Donna Nicol, who is the Associate Dean for Personnel and Curriculum in the College of Liberal Arts at California State University Long Beach and the author of Black Woman On Board, which chronicles Dr. Hampton’s tenure on the CSU board and her lasting influence on the Cal State system.

Artificial intelligence plays a key role in digital transformation, allowing institutions to scale their efforts and streamline their work. In this podcast, David Bass, AGB’s executive director of philanthropic governance, and Fundmetric CEO Mark Hobbs discuss the use of AI in fundraising in higher education. Effective use of AI and an improved data infrastructure can help you prioritize and personalize outreach, adapt to changing donor demographics, and identify untapped donor potential.

With the 2024 U.S. presidential election on the horizon, how do the Democratic and Republican Party platforms address higher education policy? The election outcome will affect students and institutions, and board members should prepare so they aren’t caught off guard. AGB’s Morgan Alexander and Penn Hill’s Alex Nock discuss the potential impacts of the election, highlighting the GOP's call for eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and the emphasis both parties place on Title IX and alternatives to four-year degrees.

The U.S. Department of Education released the final rule on Title IX on April 29, 2024. These new regulations emphasize broader reporting standards and more mandatory reporters, which could lead to an increase in Title IX reporting. In this podcast, Sally Mason, president emerita of the University of Iowa and AGB Senior Consultant and Senior Fellow, and Peter Lake professor of law and director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University and AGB Consultant discuss the implications of the final rule and what boards need to know.

Strategic enrollment planning goes beyond attracting new students. It involves supporting current students, evaluating program offerings, and understanding the broader environment. In this podcast, Stuart Jones of Southern Utah University and Lew Sanborne of RNL speak with AGB’s Cristin Toutsi Grigos about the importance of board and campus-wide engagement in strategic enrollment planning, regular assessment of the impact of those strategies, and how thinking small can lead to big changes over time.

Changing student expectations, technological advances, and the need for flexibility have been driving a digital transformation in higher education. To make the most of that transformation, colleges and universities—and the boards that oversee them—need to develop a strategic plan and align technology with their institutional goals. In this episode, AGB Senior Consultant Amy Hilbelink, who most recently served as campus president of Pittsburgh, Online at South College, and Chris Moloney, associate vice president and associate managing principal of AGB Consulting, discuss the crucial role board members and trustees play in digital transformation. 

The Department of Labor recently issued a new rule affecting exempt and non-exempt employee status, which classifies employees based on job characteristics and determines if employees are eligible for overtime pay. The new rule could change who falls into those classifications, including staff and faculty on campuses around the country.

AGB’s Morgan Alexander speaks with Alex Nock of Penn Hill Group about the implications of the new rule for colleges and universities, and what questions boards should be asking senior administrators. For more information, see AGB's Policy Alert.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) serves as the crucial link for students pursuing higher education by determining their financial support needs. However, this year's revised FAFSA rollout has encountered significant challenges—including false starts, communication issues, and inaccurate data—garnering attention both within and outside academia. These delays are causing widespread disruptions for students, families, and educational institutions, with particularly severe implications for colleges that serve economically disadvantaged students.

In this podcast, AGB’s Morgan Alexander speaks with Alex Nock of Penn Hill Group about the implications of the FAFSA delay for higher education, as well as the pertinent questions boards should be asking.

Boards play a critical role in protecting the autonomy of higher education institutions and must lead proactively to navigate challenges to independence. In part two of this podcast, Board Independence Under Fire, AGB Interim President and CEO Ellen Chaffee and AGB Senior Fellows and Senior Consultants Jill Derby and David Maxwell discuss the importance of education and dialogue within boards to understand their responsibilities, including safeguarding institutional integrity and academic freedom.

While governing boards need to be open to input and recommendations from their college, foundation, or system’s stakeholders, they must also discern between what’s appropriate and what could compromise their independence and their institution’s mission and integrity.

That’s especially important these days, as political polarization is increasingly creating challenges for board members in fulfilling their fiduciary duties of loyalty, obedience, and care. AGB released a Board of Directors’ Statement on Influences Impacting Governing Board Independence and Leadership in late 2023 to guide boards in the governance of their colleges, foundations, and systems; inform them of their roles and responsibilities; and clarify their relationships with those involved in the governance process.

In part one of this two-part podcast, AGB Interim President and CEO Ellen Chaffee speaks with two people who serve as AGB senior consultants and senior fellows: Jill Derby, who previously was chair of the Nevada Board of Regents and is the current chair of the American University of Iraq in Kurdistan, and David Maxwell, president emeritus of Drake University and board member and former board chair at Grinnell College.

Ellen, Jill, and David will explore the challenges faced by governing boards in upholding their fiduciary duty amid increasing external pressures, as well as highlight the importance of maintaining board independence and protecting institutions from any undue influences.

An effective enterprise risk management, or ERM, program is more than just identifying risks; it should add value to an organization by focusing on managing and monitoring risks over time. How do boards distinguish between disruptive and strategic risks? How do campuses address student mental health as a crucial area of risk? What are the key questions boards need to ask to assess the effectiveness of ERM and wellness initiatives at their institutions?

In this podcast, Barbara McCuen Jones, AGB’s director of digital solutions speaks about the importance of adaptability, board involvement, and transparency in ERM programs with three leading experts: Leigh Goller, the chief audit, risk, and compliance officer for Duke University and Duke University Health System; Sharon McMullen, a consulting director at Huron, a global professional services firm; and Anne Pifer, a managing director at Huron.