Trusteeship - March/April 2021 - 14

At the same time, committee members
voted to relocate in Washington, D.C., a
proposal to open AGB membership to
boards of independent institutions was
voted down. Soon after, it was pointed
out that the Carnegie Corporation " might
be more interested " in assisting AGB if it
changed its membership policy. A unanimous vote to open membership to independent institutions followed.
To quell concerns that boards of independent institutions would in time " dominate " the association, it was agreed that
only six of the 15 executive committee slots
be made available to them.
Ironically, AGB's first member from
the independent sector, Athens College in
Athens, Alabama, soon became " too big of a

1966

financial burden " on the Methodist Church
and was turned over to the state of Alabama.
Athens State College enrolls 2,100 students.
After receiving a $75,000 grant from
the Carnegie Corporation, AGB made the
move to D.C., and J.L. Zwingle, a vice president at Cornell University, became AGB's
executive vice president.

Building Optimism
The early 1960s stand out as an especially
significant period in AGB history. It was
a time when the association's continued
existence was in doubt, but with the help
of foundation money, membership and
productivity blossomed.
Building legitimacy for AGB with Washington's higher education community was a

priority. Zwingle, however, encountered " the
disturbing cynicism about the value of the lay
board at any level of education, but particularly higher education. According to Zwingle,
the feeling among colleagues was that " the
concept of lay trusteeship is fundamentally
sound, but it is better not to make much of it. "
Initial efforts to establish cooperative
programs with other higher education
associations were unsuccessful. In a meeting with American Council on Education
(ACE) President Logal Wilson, Zwingle
outlined ways ACE could help " in a great
new venture, " but he was told he was on his
own. The next issue of AGB Reports nevertheless announced that Wilson and ACE
" look forward to close cooperation with
AGB and Dr. Zwingle... "

The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) joins the American Council on Education (ACE) in
the formulation of the American Association of University Professors' (AAUP) Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities
and " commends " the statement to AGB members. This statement was jointly formulated by AAUP, ACE, and AGB. In October 1966,
the board of directors of the ACE took action by which its council " recognizes the statement as a significant step forward in the
clarification of the respective roles of governing boards, faculties, and administrations, " and " commends it to the institutions
which are members of the Council. " The Council of the AAUP adopted the statement in October 1966, and the 53rd Annual Meeting
endorsed it in April 1967. In November 1966, the executive committee of the AGB took action by which that organization also
" recognizes the statement as a significant step forward in the clarification of the respective roles of governing boards, faculties, and
administrations, " and " commends it to the governing boards which are members of the Association. " (In April 1990, the Council of
the AAUP adopted several changes in language in order to remove gender-specific references from the original text.)

14 TRUSTEESHIP MAR. APR. 2021

1973

Robert L. Gale
becomes president
of AGB.

1974 The Trustee
Information
Clearinghouse and
library on academic
governance are
created at AGB.

Trusteeship - March/April 2021

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