If your board is not holding an executive session during every board meeting, maybe it should.

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

The Rev. Heather Hartung, Ph.D., has been a student, minister, faculty member, dean, and member of a theological school board. She now serves as a director of accreditation with the Association of Theological Schools. In this episode of the podcast, she discusses how boards and leaders of theological schools can approach shared governance from various perspectives.

The Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative was designed by Lilly Endowment Inc. to create ways for theological schools in North America to train and support ministers for Christian churches. The Rev. Dr. Jo Ann Deasy, director of institutional initiatives of the Association of Theological Schools, and Amy Kardash, president of the In Trust Center for Theological Schools, discuss key findings and themes. ATS and the In Trust Center are co-coordinating the initiative.

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.

In this on-demand webinar, Rick Staisloff, Senior Partner of rpk GROUP, discusses essential aspects of strategic partnerships. This session delves into current trends, identification of partners, navigating the due diligence process, and common challenges.

Governing boards can follow these steps to enhance their Wise Stewards journey for institutional change through one-on-one coaching, board self-assessment, peer learning, and immersion into governance habits for long-term effectiveness.

Dr. Kent Anderson, president of Providence University College and Theological Seminary in Canada, considers competency-based theological education as a return to ancient practices rather than a novel approach. He believes mentoring and hands-on learning can provide benefits in the field and emphasizes that institutional humility and a willingness to adapt are essential for the success of theological schools.

Greg Henson, president of Kairos University, has worked with competency-based educational approaches for years and used competency-based education to remake what was Sioux Falls Seminary. In this discussion, he covers a variety of aspects of the work and discusses the book he co-wrote with Kent Anderson, president of Providence University College and Theological Seminary.

The charters for board committees serve several significant purposes in school governance. Key committees include the Executive, Finance, Governance, and Investment Committees. Creating effective charters requires clearly defining and specifying the roles they play within institutional governance.

We are often asked by our members how to draft descriptions for board officer positions. In response, we have compiled a collection of downloadable documents that can be used as templates to aid boards in outlining the roles and responsibilities of specific positions (dated January 2024). Each template provides clear delineations of board officers’ positions.

Cory Scheer, Ed.D., the founder and CEO of TrustCentric, discusses the current and very troubling condition of trust as a clarion call to action. But despite the dismal data showing pervasive organizational distrust, every organization has the opportunity to assess their current level of trust, learn and adopt a proven trust building framework, and then develop a meaningful and long-lasting plan of action.