Many University Trustees Don’t Feel Prepared, Survey Finds

Forty percent of university trustees feel “slightly” or “not at all” prepared to carry out their duties, according to a new survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Of those who did not feel well-prepared for the job, only 56 percent reported an excellent relationship with the institution’s president — compared with 73 percent of trustees who said they were “very well prepared” trustees. Less prepared trustees were also more likely to report feeling unfulfilled, less valued, and less interested in serving again.

There was also a significant gap in what issues trustees and presidents thought were important, including fund raising, U.S. News and World Report rankings, and size and quality of the freshman class.

The survey also found that almost 90 percent of the trustees are white and 63 percent are men.