To students, it sometimes seems like the Board of Trustees act as puppet masters pulling the strings of the University’s administrators. While the Board is trusted with making the majority of the University’s decisions, it is divided into specialized committees that address specific areas of the institution.
The Board of Trustees is made up of 33 members, 24 of which are appointed by the Administration. The remaining nine are elected by seniors, tenured faculty and the alumni community and serve terms of three years each.
The University By-Laws set up the composition of the Board of the Trustees. There are at least five standing committees at any time. The first three are committees focused on the University community: Campus Affairs Committee, Finance Committee and Portfolio Subcommittee, and University Relations Committee.
The Campus Affairs Committee deals with curriculum issues, course access, how to make registration easier, admissions, Residential Life concerns and gender-sensitive housing, amongst many other things.
“They have a huge agenda and there’s never enough time to deal with everything,” said Vice President for Public Affairs Justin Harmon.
The Finance Committee looks at the University’s capital and operating budgets and long-range financial plan.
“This committee addresses how we are maintaining physical plant, and able to build new buildings on campus, including big facilities projects. This committee shows how we can afford to do it,” Harmon said.
He also mentioned that at the last Board retreat in September, members discussed the faculty salary issue.
“Usually the Finance Committee presents the budget that includes final numbers, but because there is concern on campus [about faculty salary] we thought it was important to discuss this and develop the budget for the long-term,” Harmon said. “If we give the faculty a huge raise this year, next year will be lousy. We have to balance it.”
Bennet said that the Board made a lot of progress with the issue.
“We’re trying to address it three months earlier this year than we have in the past, which means we have less information about what other schools are doing, but the Board cares about faculty salary,” Bennet said.
The Finance Committee includes the Portfolio Subcommittee that deals with maximizing endowment return.
“It’s a small group that knows about investments,” Harmon said. “They meet with other alumni who are knowledgeable about investments, and they meet with [Vice President and Chief Investment Officer] Tom Kannam.”
The University Relations Committee is responsible for maintaining the University’s relationship with the off-campus public and deals with annual and special fundraising efforts. Harmon sits on this committee.
“I prepare a report in annual fundraising, looking at the campaign and how we are going to raise money to add professorships, financial aid, and the new science building, for example,” he said.
The other two committees are The Audit Committee and the Board Governance Committee. The former makes financial and technical decisions that do not involve University policy, and the latter looks at the efficacy of the Board’s work.
The Board assembles four times each year. The last retreat was held in September.
“At the last retreat, we introduced the new members of the Board, there are about six or seven new people and we discussed a series of long-term strategic issues with an emphasis on finance,” said President Doug Bennet. “We’re dealing constructively but there’s not always money for everything.”
Harmon emphasized that the Board reaches out to the community in developing policy.
“All Board meetings, with the exception of executive session, are done with the presence of certain faculty members, staff, and students,” Harmon said.
According to Harmon the Board makes an effort to meet with students in different settings. For example, the Board periodically has open office hours and various receptions to elicit student ideas.
Additionally, the Wesleyan Student Assembly’s Student Body Constitution calls for certain officers to hold positions as student trustees.
“These students help frame the agenda and give student perspective for issues on the table,” Harmon said.
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