HIGHER EDUCATION · FOCUS AREA
Building
Effective Board Governance
Your board wants to help move the institution forward, but its structure and ways of working were built for a different era.
We work alongside boards and presidents to strengthen governance and align it with the institution’s changing needs.
Together, we examine committee structures, agendas, information flow, and the division of labor between board and administration. For boards carrying fiduciary responsibility in a sector moving faster than their meeting calendars, the result is a body that takes up the decisions that matter, at the speed those decisions have to be made.
ON A CAMPUS
Where does the work need to happen?
A board that spends its meetings receiving reports and never reaches strategy.
Committees organized around functions the institution no longer prioritizes.
A new strategic plan approved by a board with no mechanism to monitor progress.
ACROSS THE INSTITUTION
What this work looks like for the whole institution.
Board structure, committee charters, agenda design, and the working relationship between the board and the executive team.
INSIDE A DIVISION OR UNIT
What it looks like for a single division.
Advisory boards and foundation boards that need the same clarity about their role, their authority, and what they are being asked to decide.
HOW WE WORK
We listen, evaluate, and build.
01
Listen
We begin by understanding the institution’s governance history, board culture, leadership relationships, and the challenges facing both the board and administration.
02
Evaluate
Effective governance requires understanding how institutional priorities, leadership responsibilities, board structures, and information flow connect. We look at how these elements support or complicate effective decision-making and oversight.
03
Build
We work with board members and institutional leaders to clarify roles, strengthen governance practices, and create structures and processes that reflect the institution’s needs.
04
Support
We help translate governance discussions into practical improvements in board operations, strategic oversight, and the working relationship between the board and administration.
FROM THE RESOURCE HUB
Advancing Higher Education
Turning strategy into an integrated way of operating
University of Montana
Advancing Higher Education
From institutional strategy to execution
Montana State University + University of Montana
Advancing Higher Education
Building strategy through university-wide engagement and alignment
Montana State University + Northern Arizona University