Trusteeship and Governance: The Impact on African Americans in Higher Education

Abstract

The one aspect of education that impacts all levels and persons involved is that of governance. Governance is defined as the setting of policies. More specifically, it occurs when one is involved in the establishing or changing of operating policies, i.e., rules by which institutions make decisions. Internally, governance includes local boards of trustees or institutional governing boards as well as both academic and administrative governance structures. Externally, governance includes state boards, the legislature, and various types of state education policy boards. Stakeholders include not only faculty, staff, and students, but also the general citizenry. The thesis of this article is that the composition of governing bodies, both local and statewide boards of trustees in particular, greatly impacts policies affecting African Americans in academe.