University Identity: The Role of Trustees

• In Event: Conceptualizing University Identity: Mission, Branding, and the Quest for Quality

Abstract

As university leaders, trustees are both internal and external stakeholders, participating in university governance while maintaining their connections to corporations, nonprofits, and government organizations. This study evaluates the scope of trustee interactions with universities and specific colleges, centers, and departments within these institutions and the implications of those interactions for organizational identity. We use a social networks approach and comparative case study design to analyze trustees’ interactions with and their contributions to university identity at Harvard and MIT. Our findings demonstrate a new conceptualization of trustees’ roles as boundary spanners developing and shaping organizational identity at the different levels of universities.

Authors

• Karley Riffe, University of Georgia

• Sondra Nicole Barringer, University of Georgia