News & Insights

Technology is changing everything, including how boards do their work. As a seminary president, for example, I advocated for a paperless board, which is a great tool for any group of trustees.

Over several meetings, our school transitioned to a thoughtfully designed, user-friendly portal to facilitate board business. As a result, board members had immediately access to archives. With the click of a mouse, they could use email, listservs, and other e-communication tools to share thoughts and questions instantly with their colleagues. Committee posts and reports were all posted on the portal. Some votes were taken online. Except for a couple of holdouts, everyone bought into the program after being trained and encouraged to use this new tool.

A paperless board does come with some legal, technical, and licensing issues. For a good review of some problems with digital communication, see Lawrence White’s short article in Trusteeship (September/October 2013, p. 7), “The Paperless Board and the Law,” which is available to AGB members here.


Image credit: Matt Forster
 

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Who's Next? Succession Planning for Boards

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Planning for board officer vacancies should start well in advance with an intentional, smooth, and carefully designed transition plan.

Seminaries are people too: Mindsets that make or break institutional change

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Theological schools are launching innovative projects to reshape education, but many struggle to achieve transformational change despite strong grant funding. Human nature, organizational culture, and governance practices often hinder progress. In this webinar, Drs. Aaron Einfeld and David Rowe provide tools to identify/overcome hidden barriers to change, offer practical steps for institutional leadership to move their institutions forward

I See That Hand

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Board members are typically recruited for their leadership, business acumen, and networks. Dr. Rebekah Basinger, project director of the In Trust Center’s Wise Stewards Initiative, will discuss how strategic questioning and interrogation skills are essential for effective board stewardship.

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