AGB Trusteeship Podcast

In this podcast, AGB Consulting's Chris Moloney interviews Higher Education Business Models Under Stress coauthors Melody Rose and Larry Large about the importance of financial stress testing, and the pivotal role of governing boards in transforming the business model to lower costs and restore financial viability, while expanding access for first-generation and low-income students. The coauthors also emphasize the importance of planning and anticipating key steps necessary to achieve a successful transition, or even closure.

Online program management is more important than ever before since nearly every student in America has now taken online classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher education institutions can no longer afford not to learn, master, and perfect the creation, marketing, and enrollment of online college programs. In this podcast, Andy Lounder, AGB's associate vice president of programs, speaks with Greg O'Brien, the chief growth officer for Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL), about the state of online education and enrollment today.

In early 2021, trustees representing every public university in Colorado joined together to form the Colorado Trustee Network (CTN). This coalition's mission is to support Coloradan trustees in enacting meaningful change related to Colorado's investment in higher education, the state's equity gap, and the alignment of postsecondary education and the workforce.

In this podcast, Morgan Alexander, AGB's associate director of public policy and strategic communications, speaks with three founding members of CTN: Alison Griffin, the chair of the board of trustees of Colorado Mesa University; Russell Noles, the vice chair of the Metropolitan State University of Denver Board of Trustees; and Chris Romer, a trustee of Colorado Mountain College.

This past spring, AGB published the Principles of Trusteeship to enhance the effectiveness of all board members. These nine principles empower each and every board member to serve as strategic thought partners in governance and leadership with their boards, presidents, and leadership teams.

In this podcast, Merrill Schwartz, AGB's senior vice president of content and program strategy speaks with Marla Bobowick, project director for the Principles of Trusteeship working group, and Jim Lyons, a former university president and member of the working group about the process of developing the principles, how to utilize the principles as a board development tool, and their favorite principles.

What is the board's strategic role in advancing justice, equity, and inclusion? AGB's own board of directors considered this question and recently published the AGB Board of Directors' Statement on Justice, Equity, and Inclusion and Guidance for Implementation to guide governing boards in their efforts to implement this important governance work.

In this podcast, AGB President and CEO Henry Stoever speaks with the organization's board chair, Shauna Ryder Diggs, and board member Leo M. Lambert about the process, anticipated outcomes, and key to success as boards examine and address barriers to justice, equity, and inclusion in their own work, at all levels of the institution, and beyond the borders of the campus.

The Lumina Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently developed a framework to help policymakers make strategic budget decisions for higher education post-COVID. With Scott Jenkins of Lumina and Travis Reindl of Gates, Kristin Hultquist of HCM Strategists discusses how the framework can help states and boards lead through and after the crisis.

In this podcast, AGB Senior Fellow and George Watt interviews Oakton Community College President Joianne Smith and Chief Advancement Officer Katherine Sawyer as Oakton prepares to launch its first fundraising campaign.

How do institutions fund and staff their fundraising campaigns? Tom Mitchell, vice president for advancement of the University of Florida, co-edited AGB's forthcoming publication, Fundraising Campaigns in Higher Education: A Practical Guide for Governing and Foundation Boards, and in this podcast, interviews chapter authors Lisa Eslinger of the Iowa State University Foundation and Zach Smith of WittKieffer on financing and staffing the campaign.

What do board members need to know about fundraising campaigns? AGB's 2021 publication, Fundraising Campaigns in Higher Education: A Practical Guide for Governing and Foundation Boards, offers board members a thorough grounding in the basic principles of successful comprehensive campaigns. John Lippincott, president emeritus of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, co-edited the book and in this podcast, interviews chapter authors Charlie Phlegar of Virginia Tech and Sergio Gonzalez of Brown University on campaign foundations and structure.

What makes a foundation innovative? How does a foundation catalyze innovation if the institution doesn't have a culture of innovation? AGB's publication, The New Realities for Public Higher Education Foundations, focuses on the opportunities and risks institutionally related foundations face in a dynamic and uncertain higher education environment. In this podcast, former AGB President Rick Legon edited the book and interviews Gretchen Buhlig, CEO of the Arizona State University Foundation and author of the New Realities chapter, "The Innovative Foundation."