Board of Trustees
Hamline University is related to the Minnesota Conference of the United Methodist Church and has continuously maintained this relationship since Hamline’s founding by Methodists in 1854 in the Minnesota Territory. Pursuant to its Bylaws, Hamline University is governed by an independent Board of Trustees, which has fiduciary responsibility for the overall mission, policy, and direction of the University’s academic and educational purposes. The Board delegates the responsibility for managing the University to the President, who reports to the Board of Trustees and is the University’s chief executive officer.
Governance
As established in its charter, the Board may consist of no fewer than 12 and no more than 40 voting members. The voting members include the Bishop of the Minnesota Area Conference and the President of the University ex officio. Board members are diverse and highly accomplished and bring many talents and experience to their work, and all share a strong commitment to Hamline University and its students, faculty, and staff. The Trusteeship Committee is responsible for recruiting and recommending persons for membership on the Board.
Meetings and committees
The full Board meets three times a year. The Board employs an active standing committee structure. Most trustees serve on more than one committee, and meet in the weeks preceding the full Board meetings, and forward any recommendations to the full Board for discussion and approval. The standing committees include: Academic and Student Affairs Committee, Facilities Committee, Finance Committee, Investment Committee, Trusteeship Committee. In addition, an Executive Committee is composed of trustees including the Board officers and committee chairs. The Board also from time to time establishes ad hoc committees to address particular strategic matters. All committees are staffed by one or more members of the President’s leadership team. Agendas include reports by, and discussion with, additional staff, faculty and students as needed.
Input to the Board
To ensure that student and faculty perspectives are available to its deliberations, the Academic and Student Affairs Committee of the Board includes a faculty representative and an undergraduate student congress (HUSC) representative who are nonvoting.
View Hamline University's current roster of Board of Trustees members below.