2008 Woodie Awards
The Board of Trust
Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: Guide to Vanderbilt
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It consists of 46 elected members and 14 ex-officio members (or, members who have other positions in the university, such as the chancellor). Elected members are nominated and voted on by the Board itself.
All of the most important decisions regarding university functioning are made unilaterally by the Board by means of a vote. For instance, whomever is chosen to become the next Chancellor will ultimately be decided upon and approved by the Board. The Board also advises university administrators on budgets and investments, approves staff compensation and deals with issues as diverse as athletics, grounds, new building projects and some of the affairs of the Medical Center.
The majority of the Board's members are businesspeople and most also sit on boards of directors for large private companies. Many Board members have or had careers with oil companies, investment corporations, banks, real estate firms, pharmaceutical companies and other firms in the health care industry. There are a handful of lawyers and former academics who also serve on the Board.
The Board is led by four officers: Chairman Ingram, Vice Chair Dennis Bottorf, Vice Chair Darryl Berger and Secretary William Bain Jr.
Two of Martha Ingram's sons, Orrin and John, are also members of the Board.
The Board includes one Young Alumni Trustee, currently Alice Ji from the class of 2006. It is currently accepting nominations for students to replace Ji when her term ends this year.
The Board's bylaws state that "no compensated member of the faculty or of the staff of the University, other than the Chancellor, shall be a member of the Board."
According to the Board of Trust's bylaws, the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Assembly are ultimately under the authority of the Board and have no vote or say in the Board's affairs. The Chancellor is given the "authority to suspend the action of any faculty of the University, the Faculty Senate, or of other individuals or bodies to whom authority has been delegated." Although the bylaws note that "the Chancellor is vested with general authority to execute documents and contracts on behalf of the University," we also read in no uncertain terms that "the Chancellor shall carry out the policies adopted from time to time by the Board of Trust," and that the power of the Chancellor extends only as far as the Board allows. By implication, the authority of the Faculty Senate and Assembly is circumscribed by the power of the Board. Moreover, the Faculty Senate can only express "recommendations" to the Board via the Chancellor.
THE BOARD'S MISSION STATEMENT:
"The Board of Trust's mission is to help Vanderbilt University achieve its goal to become one of the top ten research and teaching universities in America and to be admired for its service to the community. As fiduciaries of the University, the Board of Trust shall work through the Chancellor to:
Determine the University's strategy;
Guarantee its fiscal soundness including providing leadership to its development efforts;
Establish appropriate policies;
Assure adequate human resources exist to implement the University's strategy;
Review progress toward the University's goal."
WHO TO KNOW: Martha Ingram.
Last year Ingram ranked number 188 on a Forbes Magazine list of the 400 wealthiest people in the United States, with a reported net worth of 2.4 billion dollars. She also sat on the Board of trustees for Vassar College, her alma mater, until 2005. She is Chairman of the Board of Ingram Industries, a corporation founded by her late husband Bronson. Ingram is a recognized patron of the arts in Tennessee, and is a former member of the advisory board for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
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