Trusteeship - March/April 2021 - ABG24

of 500-the ultimate as then perceived.
Exxon led the way with supporting funds;
then U.S. Steel; then Kellogg; and Mellon;
and Lilly.
The publications grew in usefulness and
popularity. From the first small pamphlets
to a 32-pager, nine times a year, sprinkled
with reprints of important articles with various sources. While some people felt that
AGB was tending to be a bit " academic, "
others were outspoken in praise. The argument could be made, and was made, that
for the same amount of money as AGB
dues, no institution could assemble for
itself and put before its board such useful,
broad-gauged, timely, thoughtful material.
Of course there were some rather significant use of these materials among nonmembers, but that was good advertising.
During this period, the composition the
board was undergoing considerable change
and the memory of olden days was not so
strong. There was a significant shift away
from the notion of " delegates " from member boards, symbolized by the new designation of AGB gatherings as " Conferences "
and " Workshops. "

A Danger Averted
An obvious flaw in the " delegate " notion is
the implied authority of a so-called delegate
to vote on matters of educational policy
as if speaking for the board of the home
institution, demonstrably not the true position. As in other organizations, there was
temptation to adopt resolutions, calling
for action either by AGB or some other
body. Such resolutions usually carry about
as much weight as the paper on which
the sentiment is recorded. Yet politically
inclined members were on alert to propose
some resolution that would make good
copy in the home press.
Several such instances developed
during the '60s. One time, a delegation
from an industrial city proposed a reso-

lution to require AGB to undertake programs completely out of reach, activities
that would have involved controversy
with every institution. The local press
had been informed that such proposals
were in the offing and should have coverage by the wire services. Fortunately,
the proposals did not reach the floor and
similar efforts were diverted in subsequent meetings.
It was difficult to explain to those who
did not wish to understand that the AGB
Board of Directors was not empowered
to speak for every member institution. In
one instance, ACE and AGB were invited
to participate in developing a statement
on faculty role in institutional governance.
AGB and ACE both " commended the statement " for consideration by local boards,
but carefully avoided endorsement outright. Small difference. Faculty members
wrote from time to time, informing AGB
that this board or that was in violation of
" AGB regulations, " and should be brought
around forthwith.
In retrospect, certain turning points
can be seen, and were evident at the time.
To repeat, in 1966, two years after the
new start, there seemed small prospect of
success. The executive orally presented an
analysis that indicated a choice between
voluntary dissolution or ultimate bankruptcy, (although meager funds of the
organization had been carefully managed
and yearly reserves increased, so that involuntary bankruptcy was no the immediate
problem).

1966: A Pivotal Year
But 1966 proved to be a swing year. Campus unrest was at high pitch, trustees were
under attack, and AGB was being perceived
as perhaps a long-term asset. Attendance at
meetings increased, seriousness of purpose
was felt, and membership gradually grew.
Through this time, two groups proved to

24 AGB: A CENTENNIAL HISTORY | March 2021

be stalwart in support. One was the volunteer leadership of AGB, persons with
nothing to gain except more work and
trouble. Another was a set of presidents
who as individuals made it their business to
lend aid and encouragement even to assistance in raising funds and encouraging new
memberships.
It would be unwise to try to name this
handy band, but many of these persons
hold places of honor in a purely private Hall
of Fame.
As to turning points, one isolated event
stands out: the day when the mail brought
word from Princeton University that its
board was considering membership. A
branch of Ivy, right out of the blue!

An Imaginative Recruiting Device
Credit is due to a member of the board,
Charles Gelatt, for an effective way of
recruiting members. First for his own
home state, then for several neighboring states, he underwrote membership
fees for independent colleges through a
period of two years, with partial underwriting for an additional year. Using this
experience as a guide, the Houston Foundation offered the same arrangement
to the independent colleges in Texas. In
both cases a substantial number of institutions stayed on.
Another aid to membership growth
was the publication for a small treatise
on trusteeship written by Algo Henderson, former director of the Center for the
Study of Higher Education at the University of Michigan, underwritten by the
Sears-Robuck Foundation and given wide
distribution.
Some early attempts at formal research
in trusteeship led to a few small projects of
limited usefulness but of symbolic importance. The first of these was a name-count
of trustees currently serving institutions
nationwide. Procurement of these lists was

Trusteeship - March/April 2021

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