NMH Magazine : Winter 2007

Leading Lines

Though history has left no record, Durant and Moody presumably recruited Evelyn Hall, a Wellesley graduate, to become Northfield’s first principal. Durant also helped recruit faculty for Northfield and Mount Hermon, and his counsel figured largely in Moody’s program for both schools. Unfortunately, Durant didn’t live long enough to see the schools flourish; he died shortly after Mount Hermon opened in 1881. As for the original board of trustees, little was written about their early deliberations. We can guess, however, that they spent most of their time struggling with attracting high-quality faculty and raising money to deliver an education of the head, heart, and hand.

Fast forward to the present, and we find that the board of trustees numbers 25; eight are women and four are people of color. Trustees serve on the board without remuneration for up to two consecutive five-year terms. We aim to elect enough trustees (up to a maximum of 30) to represent our diverse constituencies and to avoid overburdening any single trustee. Much of the board’s work takes place in smaller committees of six to ten trustees that can drill down to specifics. We have committees for finance, endowment management, buildings and grounds, admission, trustee development, academic and student life, diversity, and advancement.

As you can imagine, the board places a premium on individuals with expertise in these domains, and a skills-gap analysis leads each trustee selection cycle. Examples of necessary skills are financial acumen, legal expertise, architectural or construction management, and curricular competence. Consequently, not all trustees need to be alumni; some can be non-NMHers who have served other schools or are parents of NMH students. Moreover, all trustees are expected to support the school as generously as they can and to put NMH at the top of their philanthropic list.

Contrary to popular myth, the role of chair of the board is not to run the school, but rather to facilitate the board’s work, to support the head of school, and to ensure that the board follows best practices in governing an independent school. As chair, I spend most of my time making sure the board remains focused on big-picture issues, such as idea generation and strategic thinking.

Many believe that an independent school board should operate like a for-profit model of governance. Yes, schools are in the business of education and need to manage human and financial resources prudently; however, crucial board deliberations should always begin and end with the question, “What impact will this have on our students and faculty of today and tomorrow?” We don’t produce a widget; we educate young men and women.

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of board service is adhering to the long view. Decisions we make today will affect students hundreds of years from now. I’m reminded of a TV comedy episode in which a one-way time portal appears and a flood of people from the future pours out. They have returned to the present to work hard and invest their money so they can better provide for the families they left behind in the future. The dilemma for dwellers in the present is that these people from the future work much harder than they do and start taking their jobs. Animosity builds and many call for a stop to the future: with no future, no one can come back through the portal to lower present living standards. A young boy admirably suggests, “Why don’t we invest today in making the future better, and these people from the future will have no need to return?”

I say it’s a brilliant idea—and I think D. L. Moody, Henry Durant, and NMH trustees past, present, and future would agree.

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