Tufts' Board of Trustees measures up
December 2After November's meeting of the entire Board of Trustees, Tufts began the process of integrating several new and younger members into the University's highest governing body. A number of local universities are making similar additions to their boards _ as well as other, more radical changes _ all in an effort to keep trustees in touch with the undergraduate experience. Like many institutions, Tufts has responded to calls for greater student participation by having three student trustee representatives, who serve as liaisons between the undergraduates and the Board. Each student rep sits on one of the Board's three committees _ Academics, Development and Administration & Finance. At the November meeting, the Board also discussed electing new, younger Trustees. In the past, trustees have been older, influential members of the Tufts community, but these new additions to the board mark a continuing attempt to reach out to a younger generation. In the spring of 1997, then-Tufts Community Union (TCU) President Omar Mattox proposed that Tufts implement a junior trustee program, similar to many schools where a recent graduate is appointed to the board for a two-year term. The initiative failed because Trustees felt that two years was too short, but it did not absolve the need for trustees to be connected to the campus experience. The Tufts Board of Trustees has a similar structure to those of other local universities, where student and faculty representatives try to keep the board connected to campus. At Brandeis University, the two student reps to the Board of Trustees both have votes in committee meetings _ but not at the thrice-annual meetings with full trustee attendance. Although it is rare for business to be conducted through a formal vote during committee meetings, student reps are a part of the consensus that emerges, Brandeis' Assistant Secretary of the Corporation John Hose said. In committees such as the one that awards honorary degrees, student votes occasionally impact on major decisions. At Brandeis, the student members have been integrated into the board for more than 20 years. The 1970s was generally a time when there "was great importance attached to having student and faculty representation on the Board," Hose said. The two undergraduate reps, who each serve for two years, are elected by the entire student body. The roles of the student reps are similar at Brandeis and Tufts. At Tufts, the student reps report on the Senate's activities at the thrice-yearly trustee meetings and make a large-scale presentation suggesting ideas for the long-term each May. At Brandeis, students have requested and received permission to make reports to the committees and keep the trustees informed of what is happening on campus. Although the structure of Tufts' Board of Trustees is similar to the governing bodies of other local colleges and universities, Tufts could look to other schools for innovative methods to keep the trustees informed of the student body's ideas, however. UMass also has five undergraduate student trustees who are elected by the student body, though only two may vote each year. The representation rotates between the five UMass campuses _ Amherst, Boston, Lowell, Dartmouth, and Worcester. These student trustees offer the student perspective to the Board, and usually focus on the issue of tuition and student fees, according to Barbara Devico, secretary to the UMass Board of Trustees. At Tufts, the student trustee reps _ this year, seniors Raji Iyer, Matthew Kane, and Sarah Sandison _ are elected by the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate. The student body participates indirectly in their selection, which may be one reason the Board of Trustees remains off most students' radar screen. But having student representation on the Board of Trustees tends to do little to increase student awareness of the body. "Most boards of trustees at most colleges and universities tend to be invisible except and unless there is some major issue that for some reason catches the students' attention," Hose said. At MIT, the Board of Trustees _ known as the Corporation _ keeps in touch with undergraduate life via open meetings held by each of the body's committees. MIT's Corporation has 31 committees, one for each academic program, the dean's office, and the libraries. The large number of committees allows MIT to keep close tabs on how each area of the university is performing. The committees are also required to have student sessions for graduates and undergraduates, creating "a link through direct conversations," according to Susan Lester, MIT's associate secretary to the Corporation. In comparison, Tufts' smaller number of committees may limit what the trustees hear from ordinary students about the academic departments they are involved in. The Corporation is the only organization on MIT's campus to bring together the university's governing body, the students, and the faculty. After meetings, the Corporation often holds open dinners _ occasionally in student dining halls _ to allow students and trustees to connect in an informal atmosphere. Tufts has held similar informal gatherings in the past. Last February, the generally placid relationship between students and trustees was disrupted when a discussion between the two groups in Dewick-MacPhie Dining Hall became confrontational. As a result, one student rep, Kane, took the unusual step of requesting additional speaking time during November's board meeting to address student-trustee relations. The administration granted his request. "The administration and the trustees are very receptive to...talking about trustee-student relations," he said at the time. At Harvard, the trustees have slightly less interaction with students. There is no direct student representation on Harvard's Board of Overseers but students and faculty members sit on several committees that advise the Board. Students have recently made their voices heard on issues such as shareholder responsibility, Al Powell, of Harvard's news department said. Despite minor difference in structure and protocol, however, the trustee boards at most private colleges and universities address the same kinds of issues. Faculty, who also may be more connected to campus life than trustees, are also an important voice. Brandeis' board hears from four faculty members, elected in a faculty-wide vote, and one graduate student in addition to the other student reps. It is helpful for the trustees to hear from these representatives because they must convey "not just their own views but also be able to articulate views ... of the student body or the faculty," Hose said. Student and faculty representatives are "a way of expanding and broadening the discussion." At Tufts, there are two faculty liaisons for each of the Board of Trustees' three committees _ one from the undergraduate school and one from each of the professional schools on a rotating basis. These faculty members participate in the committees' discussion and present the faculty perspective on issues, something that is "really very helpful," according to Trustee Secretary Linda Dixon. The faculty representatives to the Board in the UMass system do not have a vote.
