Effective Governance in Higher Education: Perspectives and Practice

As higher education governance evolves, there are major implications for members of governing bodies as they come to terms with an increasingly complex governance environment. Governors need to be well prepared for the challenges they face, so that they can contribute effectively to their boards from the outset. The Leadership Foundation and the Committee of University Chairs (CUC) recently hosted a one-day leadership summit to explore the characteristics of effective and high performing governing bodies. The event also saw the launch of a research report on the same topic, and a series of five publications designed to aid governors in ‘getting to grips’ with particular areas of responsibility. In this In Practice, Professor Sir David Watson reflects on some of the issues raised during the summit and Dr Lesly Huxley summarises Getting to Grips with Finance, Estates (and IT) and Human Resource Management, areas of governance which may also be of interest to leaders and managers elsewhere in higher education.