Mr. Hensler also added that shared governance is key. He would like to see shared governance work moving forward in collaborative ways across the community. He also likes the idea of delegating more to the board committees and having a chair of the committee report out at the board meetings. In addition, it would be good to have board members rotate committees more often. Mr. Hensler added that the board is responsible for “Heritage of Institution,” which is the relationship between professors and students. Face-to-face/in the classroom is the best format for this. For board meetings, he would like to see a draft of the agenda earlier to provide feedback and suggestions. He asked that presentations at the board meeting always be tied to the strategic plan and that we start every board meeting stating our Vision and Mission. Mr. Conner agreed that moving to committee chairs on the board committees is a good idea. He would like succession planning as part of the board discussions and the leadership team. We always need to refer to our mission and have the best interests of the students in mind. President Wohlpart pointed out that each ELT member has a clear number two. Mr. Charbonneau asked about the level of depth that a board should go. What is appropriate for a board? AGB articles note that the management of the university should be left to the administration; the board’s role is to consider the strategic direction and to get and give feedback on how this is going. He added that not all students are the same and learn the same way, so being intentional and strategic when offering both in person and online modalities is important. There is a time and place for online. Mr. Charbonneau added that the board needs to look at their bylaws more regularly as part of the shared governance process. Ms. Jenkins commented that the 10 habits of highly effective boards were very helpful in reaffirming their role. She added that this could be a good opportunity to better educate the campus community of what the board’s role is. It is important for everyone to know when the board should lean in or step back. Ms. Gillis noted that time, cost, and quality of educational programs is a board responsibility. She is wondering about student progress to graduation—in terms of how classes are scheduled and whether there is a strategy for online classes. The decision to have online classes should be an institutional strategy, not a personal preference. She also noted that the shared governance document needs to be used to guide revisions to policies and procedures, and that if the board needs to hold emergency meetings to update important policies they should do so. Vice presidents added that they like the idea of the chair model for board committees and board members rotating committees regularly. They look forward to the ideas and strategies that board members might have. These meetings will get into more depth than they have in the past and help give appropriate strategic direction to the university. Regarding the Board Chair/Leadership questions, board members think having separate consistent, monthly check-ins between the board chair and president in addition to the executive committee is important. That would give the chair and president time to plan together what should be discussed at executive committee meetings. Ms. Gillis suggested incorporating “teaming” into board meetings or at the annual retreat. When new leadership comes on board it is very important for the board chair and president to have time to get to know each other. This scheduling should be intentional and happen sooner. The group agreed that the board executive committee should also oversee governance.
3 Board of Trustees Minutes July 24-25, 2025
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