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Introduction
Many academic departments have advisory boards comprised of
individuals who have an interest in the department’s academic area. A
successful board serves more than to be just a list of noted individuals
for purposes of department publicity. An effectively utilized
department advisory board can provide a practical and functional
organization for developing relationships with department alumni and
other outside individuals who would have an interest in supporting the
mission of an academic department.
The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview of
the organization and execution of a successful advisory board. It draws
upon my 7 years’ experience as Chair of the Department of Finance in the
Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business of the University of
Missouri, working with the Finance Advisory Board (FAB). While the FAB
has been quite a successful and productive organization, my examples
should serve as only one way of doing things well; there are many
avenues that lead to a thriving department advisory board.
An advisory board can provide a number of benefits to a department, including:
- providing guidance and counsel
- to the department chair
- to individual faculty members
- interaction with department major students in a variety of ways such as
- individual mentoring
- job shadowing
- serving as classroom guest speakers
- fundraising
Board Bylaws Organization
A good set of bylaws is a vital tool for maintaining a board.
Items noted in the following subsections are good candidates for
specifying in the bylaws. Bylaws can help with the transition from one
set of officers to another, and they can provide a set of guidelines
that can help reduce any disagreements that might arise.
Board Member
Finding the right balance between having a sufficient number of
board members and a number that becomes too cumbersome is an act that
probably comes more with experience than with a rule of thumb. There
should be enough members to represent a broad cross-section of the
various sub-areas that your department covers. For example, a modern
language department would want board members representing each of the
languages taught in the department.
My experience has shown that a board of about 25 members
serves us well. There will usually be between 5 and 10 members who
cannot make a meeting, so attendance of 15 to 20 at a meeting is a
manageable number and allows each individual the opportunity to
contribute.
Officers
The title, responsibility, number of officers to empower is
another area that the bylaws should address. The number and
responsibilities are probably best determined by the board based on its
needs. The FAB has only a Chair and a Vice-Chair who assumes the
position of Chair in the following year. There are several minor officer
positions (committee chairs) that may or may not have many duties in
any one given year. Also, individual members take on ad hoc duties and responsibilities as needs arise.
The board has 4 standing committees:
- Promotion
- Student Relations
- Membership
- Fundraising
- Each committee has a chair. There is no secretary position; the
department’s administrative assistant has the task of taking minutes at
each meeting. The board needs no treasurer because all funds flow
through the department’s official account with the university.
Recruiting and Retaining Members
Recruiting new members is essential to an advisory board’s
health. New members bring fresh ideas and can re-energize a board that
might be starting to founder. The bylaws should identify
- procedures for inviting prospective new members and placing them on the board
- terms for members
- processes for inviting members to recommit or graciously exit at the end of their term.
I have found 2 useful sources of candidates for membership.
Most obvious is the current board membership and their circle of
connections. The second is faculty who can recommend former students
with whom they may have maintained contact. Alumni are usually the best
prospects; they have an already-established loyalty to the department
and often look forward to reconnecting with faculty members who may
still be teaching for the department.
The FAB invites prospective members to a trial meeting in which
the candidate “decides whether he or she wants to join such a notorious
group.” In that way, the board avoids giving the prospect the
impression of being on probation and allows the candidate a way out if
there is no fit. Following this first meeting, the board extends a
formal invitation to join.
Department Chair Role
The leadership of the board should be vested in its officers
with the department chair in the role of a non-voting, permanent member.
Board members will take ownership of their organization and are more
likely to offer their services and resources if the department chair
serves more as a consultant than a participant. Board members will
respect a department chair that offers suggestions and guidance but
allows the board to make its own decisions.
During FAB meetings, after the chair calls the meeting to order
and introduces prospective new members, I present a 45-minute report on
the department and sum up by outlining the topics that I hope the board
will address and act on during the meeting. During the remainder of the
meeting, members regularly direct questions to me about the topic they
are addressing, so I serve an informational and guidance role during
that time.
Effective Board Member Characteristics
An effective board member will
- be proactive
- attend meetings on a regular basis
- participate in the board’s activities to the extent possible
Board Meetings
How often,
where, when should the board meet?
Choose a balance in the number of board meetings. Too few
meetings will lead to board members losing interest; too many will cause
burnout. The campus makes a great place to meet as long as adequate
facilities are available. Make it as easy as possible for board members
to get more for their trip to campus by combining events, if
possible.
The FAB has 2 meetings per year, each starting at 9:00 a.m. and
ending by about 2:45. (They tend to start getting restless soon after
lunch, and some members like to have a post-meeting session at one of
the nearby pubs.) The fall meeting is on Friday preceding the homecoming
football game, and the spring meeting coincides with the College’s
Honors Luncheon. Basketball games and other events can also provide a
nice draw.
Pre-meeting organization
Members appreciate a well-organized and executed meeting. Set
and announce the date of the next meeting during the current meeting,
and planning should begin months before the meeting date so that
everything will proceed smoothly including
- Reminder emails leading up to the meeting day, including a copy of the previous meeting’s minutes
- Meeting facility and catering arrangements (light breakfast
for those arriving early and full lunch recommended, and be sure to have
coffee available all day)
- Table tents and name tags
Conducting effective meetings
Board officers should lead meetings will hopefully have the
skills to facilitate a productive meeting. Sometimes the department
chair can gently guide the discussion back to its intended target, and
providing an agenda with topics and times helps keep the meeting on
schedule.
Successfully Engaging Advisory Board Members
A successful board is actively engaged with the department.
However, left on their own, boards tend to lose steam, so the department
chair should continually work to involve members. Board members need to
know that their contributions make a difference and that their
commitments of time and other valuable resources are not wasted.
Participation and engagement create a rewarding experience for members
and lead to continued and additional participation. The following are
suggestions for projects that keep members involved and contributing to
the mission of the department:
- Plan and host major events – bring in a noted speaker or
practitioner in the field (department chairs should offer resources such
as department staff for planning and executing an event)
- Engagement with students – serve as a student’s mentor, host a
student to job-shadow, sponsor a reception for students to meet board
members (chairs and staff can help coordinate these)
- Professor for a day – speak to a class (chairs should encourage department faculty to invite board members)
- Student trips – members can host student trips or arrange
them with acquaintances (chairs can offer operational
assistance)
The following are department chair activities that can help keep the board thriving:
- Visits – periodically arrange a brief visit with board members at their work, home, or for lunch
- Communication – keep members informed of what’s going on, use
emails, publish a newsletter, maintain a web site
Fundraising
If fundraising is the primary reason that a department sponsors
a board, then the board will probably neither effectively contribute to
the department’s mission nor successfully raise funds. On the other
hand, active and engaged board members who feel that their contributions
of valuable time and effort have made a positive difference will often
be willing (and possibly wanting) to make a financial
contribution.
Any of the special projects noted in the previous section
provide opportunities for raising funds. For example, there are expenses
associated with bringing in a noted guest speaker, and the board could
make it a priority that members would provide or solicit funding for the
event.
Any department chair who works with board members during
meetings and in activities such as those mentioned in the previous
section will develop close relationships with board members. As part of
this relationship, it is certainly appropriate to have a frank
discussion with the member about the financial challenges that higher
education faces and possible contributions that the member could make to
help the department achieve its goals.
In closing…
Sponsoring a department advisory board can be a fulfilling
undertaking for an academic department chair, and it can lead to
benefits that help the department advance its goals. However, department
chairs who take the challenge to form and maintain an advisory board
will be first to admit that success comes only through many hours of
work and months or years of developing working relationships.
Dan French President has served on multiple boards over the
past several decades, including the Southwestern Finance Association,
1990-91, 2012-13, Vice-Pres. and Program Chair, Southwestern Finance
Association, 1989-1990, 2011-12, Member, Board of Directors,
Southwestern Finance Association, 1986-1988, and Treasurer, Rio Grande
Chapter, Financial Executives Institute, 1995-1997. Additionally, he is
currently active in the American Finance Association, Southern Finance
Association, Financial Management Association, Southwestern Finance
Association, Eastern Finance Association, American Real Estate Society,
and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.
Resources:
This article was originally published in the following publications:
1. Dan W. French. “The Department Advisory Board as an Academic
Partner” The Department Chair, 21 (Summer 2010), 1-3.
2. Special
Issues in Chairing Academic Departments, by Carolyn
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