Trusteeship - November/December 2020 - 30

TAKEAWAYS
■ In the midst of COVID-19 and

nationwide protests against
racial injustice, institutions
of public higher education
and their institutionally
related foundations are
reevaluating their social
and fiscal environments.
To properly address these
issues, board leadership
must confront the turbulent
future with diversity, equity,
and inclusion (DE&I) in
mind.
■ In addition to managing and

growing the endowment,
foundation boards are
charged with aligning their
mission and endowments
with institutional core
values. Board leadership
must ensure foundation
policies and practices
incorporate DE&I at every
opportunity.
■ Homogeneous foundation

boards are unlikely to
reach their full potential.
Therefore, boards must
conduct a gap analysis to
assess board composition
and recruit new members
from a broad range of
racial, ethnic, gender,
age, sexual orientation,
and socioeconomic
backgrounds to create
diverse and inclusive
boards.

30 TRUSTEESHIP NOV. DEC. 2020

Universities, both public and private, are
confronting a renewed national reckoning
with systemic racism, and foundation boards
need to consider their role in responding
to the current challenges in these unprecedented times. As we confront the issues of
racism and social injustice locally and nationally, the heightened demands for diversity,
equity, and inclusion (DE&I) has brought
forth an urgency and moral imperative for
institutions of higher education to reflect and
act in a proactive manner on their institutional commitment to these issues. Despite
the progress that universities have made
over the last 50 years to promote access and
educational opportunity for students from
underserved communities and its commitment to the recruitment of diverse faculty
and staff, the vestiges and harm resulting
from segregation and systematic racism is
still embedded in the institutional fabric of
universities and affiliated auxiliaries.
The question that foundation boards
need to consider is what role does DE&I
play in the board's mission and work?
Boards understand that their defined
responsibilities include advancing institutional priorities. However, policies and
practices may not reflect their institution's
commitment to DE&I and may fall short on
reflecting and acting on the priorities.

Understandably, foundation boards operate with the recognition that one of their
primary responsibilities as fiduciaries is the
prudent management of its endowment,
which includes a balanced and diverse pool
of investments for the long-term benefit of
the institution. Hence, it is logical to extend
this approach to the importance and benefits of diversifying the human capital and talent that comprise the board's membership.
The current national climate is focused
on institutionalized racism and this is a propitious time for boards to discuss and expand
the scope of their responsibilities to reflect
and align their focus with institutional commitment and values regarding DE&I.

Why Diversity Matters for Boards
In response to the national climate on
race, many board members understand
the benefit for becoming more diverse
and inclusive. Other board members will
require more justification to convince them
of the benefits of such an approach. Boards
should ask the question: Can the board
function effectively and support the needs
of its university if it is not diverse, inclusive,
and reflective of the demographic it serves?
The answer is, yes, but, it is unlikely that
the board's full potential can be realized if
its membership is largely homogeneous.

SHUTTERSTOCK/ ALESSANDRO BIASCIOLI

Trusteeship - November/December 2020

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