Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont’s Board of Trustees today approved changes to its Guidelines for Selection of University Trustees to reinforce the importance of seeking diversity when recruiting new members to the Board.
“While considerations about the diversity that a candidate may bring to the Board have been on our minds throughout the time I have served on the Board, the changes to this document are significant because they commit us in writing—as part of our official Board guidelines—to be deliberate in our diversity efforts,” said Frank Cioffi, chair of the Committee on Board Governance.
Two new sentences were added to the guidelines:
- “These criteria acknowledge . . . the value of having trustees who reflect the diversity from which the University draws its students and faculty.”
- “[T]he Board strives to include in its composition trustees . . . who reflect diversity in its many forms, including but not limited to gender, race, and ethnicity.”
While there is no single entity responsible for recruitment of new Board members, the changes to the guidelines apply to all the entities who select and elect new members. The 25-member Board is made up of two ex-officio members, the governor and the university president; three members selected by the governor; two members selected by students; nine members elected by the State Legislature; and nine members selected by a self-perpetuating UVM Board.
The changes go into effect immediately.
Source: UVM 1.31.2020