Next week, on Oct. 9 and 10, the university’s trustees will gather for their first meeting of this academic year. Who are the trustees? What do they do?

To understand the role of Loyola’s trustees it is important to remember that most universities in the United States are non-profit and because of that they are chartered by the state in which they reside. As a non-profit board, they are seen to operate for the public good and the welfare of society. State governments charter and enable private institutions to operate as non-profit degree-granting entities. The federal government provides tax-exempt status, which helps to create a favorable environment for philanthropy, and many private institutions receive direct and indirect grants from state governments in recognition of their public purposes. (see the Web site for the Association of Governing Boards http://www.agb.org). Trustees are responsible for the direction and performance of the university.

The directors of for-profit companies represent the ownership of the companies. They represent investors in the company. Trustees of independent colleges and universities have fiduciary responsibilities. One responsibility is that the university remains mission-centered. Second, they are responsible for acting on behalf of their fellow citizens and institutional founders as their individual consciences and best judgment dictate.

Basically the work of the board is to be sure the university is acting to fulfill its mission. Their work is to review and challenge our strategic thinking so that the university will be faithful to its mission and work towards fulfilling the mission.

The most basic job of the trustees is to select, evaluate and support the president of the university. At each Loyola board meeting there is a report from the president to the board. Another core responsibility is for the board to challenge the university to think strategically about its mission and goals.

Loyola’s board is made of 35 members. Of the trustees, 10 (29 percent) are women and 25 are men (71 percent). There are three members who are African- American and one Asian-American. There are 12 Jesuits on the board. 20 members of the Board (57 percent) come from out of state and 15 are from Louisiana (43 percent). Our trustees represent the fields of finance and banking, law, medicine, higher education, the arts, social services and philanthropy.

The board has five key standing committees. The committees look at the various aspects of the life of the university.

The board has a committee on mission and identity, which monitors the integration of mission into all university activities and ensures on-going mission education for all constituents. The trusteeship committee works to ensure the most effective composition of the board of trustees and then they develop practices, recommend strategies and policies and lead board activities that attract, orient, organize, motivate and assess the performance of trustees.

The institutional advancement committee works to ensure planning for and then monitoring of comprehensive fund-raising initiatives to support the university’s strategic priorities and resource development efforts and provides leadership for raising funds to ensure the financial health of the university and, in so doing, achieve the goals the university has identified as necessary to the attainment of its mission. The committee on academic and student affairs oversees and modifies policies and plans that ensure fulfillment of the university’s educational mission. The finance committee oversees the financial integrity of the university and its endowment investments along with our facilities needs. There is also an audit committee, which meets twice a year, and a committee on by-laws, which meets periodically.

When the board meets, the committees meet on Thursday and the full board meets on Friday. When the full board meets there are reports from the president and each of the board committees. We often have a particular thematic topic of conversation; for example, at this meeting we will look at the development of a strategic plan.

The newly renovated Danna Student Center is the most recent tangible evidence of their work. It was over a year ago that the board approved renovation of the center. In the next few years, as the board focuses on long term strategic and facilities planning, there will be many more signs of their work and contributions.

The Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J. is the university president. He can be reached at [email protected].