Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/57875
Advise Connect Advisory boards strengthen the connection between academia and the corporate world, as executives engage in the lives of schools through counsel, funding, and hands-on involvement. B& 24 BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007 usiness schools today want more from their advisory boards than ever before—more input, more direct service, and sometimes even more members. It's becoming common- place for today's schools to set up multiple boards to focus on specific areas of education or community outreach. That means more business leaders are being called upon to advise more schools—which enhances the strong connec- tions between academia and industry. But expanding the roster of advisory boards is only useful if schools make sure members stay engaged and get directly involved in campus projects. "Otherwise, there's a danger of having an advisory board that exists only on a piece of paper as some kind of marketing list," warns Wil- liam Kooser, associate dean at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Expanding the board membership also means finding a greater number of executives who are willing to serve. While prominent local business- people are often asked to participate, schools also rely heavily on suc- cessful graduates who have a keen interest in seeing their alma maters continue to prosper. "The support of distinguished graduates might be what ultimately separates great business schools from those that are merely good," says Michael Knetter, dean of the University of Wisconsin- Madison School of Business. "This is particularly true for public schools, which increasingly must rely on higher tuition and greater alumni support to remain competitive in the global market for business education." Of course, asking for someone's advice sometimes means receiving too much input. It's best to establish firm guidelines for board participation and share these with executives in advance, according to Ali Malekzadeh, dean of the Williams College of Business at Xavier University in Cincin- nati, Ohio. "I think the key to making boards work is to be clear from the outset what we want from members," he says. "We want their strategic thoughts—they do not have time to micromanage the college." Malekzadeh, Knetter, and Kooser know the power of a committed, engaged advisory board—or two or three or ten. All of them oversee multiple boards that have helped their schools define their trajectories for the near future and plot their courses for the long term.