Trusteeship - November/December 2023 - 24

TRANSFORMING DES MOINES UNIVERSITY
The signing for the purchase of property for a new campus in West Des Moines was held in DMU's former board room Friday, May 24, 2019. DMU Board
Chair Michael Witte and University President Angela Walker Franklin-seated, fourth and third from right, respectively-were joined by DMU trustees
and members of the McKinney family for the signing of the purchase of property for a new campus.
use of time and resources. Today, board retreats are local, rich,
and challenging two-day work sessions that focus on best practices
of board operations and decision-making. They consider
means for expanding principles of DEI across campus, philanthropic
priorities, curricular and co-curricular expansion and
change, campus master planning, and more.
■ Accountability measures. Before 2013, there were no term
limits for members and no self-evaluations-there were virtually
no member accountability measures. These are now well-established,
regular, vital routines central to the board's business. Furthermore,
in 2013, the board instituted 360-degree evaluations
for all members and asked the governance committee to look
into issues that would arise through the process. This process
encouraged the board to invite new talent to join.
■ Monthly meetings. To tighten the communications network
and build trust, the board instituted monthly meetings among
the president, board chair, past chair, and vice chair.
■ External guidance. Unlike in the past, the board now routinely
invites outside specialists to provide guidance and counseling on
best practices for governing boards.
■ Widening mission. The board realized that to expand the
research enterprise, DMU would need to think more broadly
about its fundraising mission, obtain supplemental external funding,
and widen the aperture of its research portfolio. In short, the
DMU board responded to the call to think differently about its
purpose, responsibility, and market opportunities.
■ Philanthropic support. The role of board members taking leadership
gift positions with time, talent, or treasure, while new for
some, became a central, recurring theme.
■ Strategic plan approval. The board is now involved in approving each
three-year strategic planning and visioning cycle for the university.
24 TRUSTEESHIP NOV.DEC.2023 ©2023 AGB.ORG
■ Enrollment management. The board approved the adoption of
a formal strategic enrollment management process that involved
the engagement of a consultant to create the framework. Unlike
in the past, the metrics of that process now constitute regular
reports to the board.
■ Brand strategy. The board also supported advancing the university's
brand by investing in an integrated and renewed marketing
and brand strategy.
■ Supportive environment. The board worked to stabilize the
institution's culture to be more supportive and collaborative
and to eliminate destructive back-channel politics. This process
involved giving full support to the president for removing problematic
high-level employees and making a structural change in
the university's top administration.
■ Shared governance. The board brought to life shared governance
practices by inviting university constituents to be involved
in various aspects of board meetings and deliberations.
■ Member recruitment. The board agreed to change its member
recruitment screening and selection process to be more strategic
and responsible, with a leading interest in diversity of background
and experience.
■ Member training. The board upgraded the orientation of new
board members to be more comprehensive. The board also
focused on digital competency. In recognition of its expanded
national representation and to ensure smooth operations and
facilitate communications among members remotely, the board
adopted a board portal management platform in 2017. That
required additional investment of time to learn the platform
intricacies and new communications modalities.
" Think of the horsepower you now have in this room, " was the
telling aside Dr. Baker whispered to me in 2016 as he acknowl

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Trusteeship - November/December 2023

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