Every college and university possesses a range of valuable assets, whether it is the quality of its faculty and academic programs, the achievement of its students, the strength of its endowment or the condition of its buildings and grounds. The board of trustees is another potentially powerful asset whose members can impact the institution in many positive ways, beyond traditional fiduciary and oversight roles, to advance strategic direction. Enhancing their school’s reputation is one area, for instance, where trustees’ talents and connections can be of great value.

Susquehanna University’s trustees created a Reputation Task Force in February 2005, to explore how board members themselves could enhance institutional reputation. This was one of the actions that resulted from a year-long board self-assessment that aimed to explore how a good board could become a great board.* An outcome of that process was the identification of three key priorities that would guide its work over a 12 to 24 month period: supporting the upcoming campaign, focusing on governance issues and improving board performance, and assisting in reputation-building. Increased competition for a smaller number of college-bound students in future years demands that Susquehanna renew efforts to build institutional visibility and name recognition.

The Reputation Task Force, comprising seven board members, began its work by researching how key audiences perceive the university and what they think Susquehanna should be better known for. The task force surveyed board colleagues and interviewed students, faculty, alumni, parents and high school guidance counselors. Whenever possible they piggybacked the focus groups on existing events and meetings to facilitate scheduling. They also initiated targeted discussions with administrators in Susquehanna’s Admissions, Alumni, Public Relations, Athletics and Career Services offices.

The task force synthesized the information they gathered into key attributes and produced a grid outlining what reputation-enhancing actions would require what level of change for what level of impact. Some ideas were taken off of the table fairly quickly, such as changing Susquehanna’s name which can be hard to pronounce for those not familiar with us. Other ideas, such as changing our athletic affiliation to realign ourselves with institutions of comparable or higher academic quality, were underway and have been accomplished. Susquehanna was proud to join the Liberty League for football and to create with other outstanding institutions a brand new athletic conference, as yet unnamed, for all other sports, with play to begin in the 2007-08 academic year.

The task force’s research findings, grouped into 12 “buckets,” were the main focus of discussion at the board’s two-day summer retreat in July 2005. Shortly thereafter, the task force offered numerous strategic ideas to the Senior Staff and me for consideration, some of which had been contemplated in the past or already underway. The “sweet spots” that emerged included creating one or more signature programs that have the potential to increase visibility and student recruitment; targeting specific geographic areas for increased visibility; telling a more consistent and compelling story about Susquehanna to a wider audience; and intentionally maximizing increased board commitment to partner in reputational activities.

A powerful source of reputational capital, the Susquehanna board recognizes that each member can be an active champion for the university and use his or her personal and professional connections on its behalf. Examples include working with:

• the Trusteeship Committee to identify and cultivate potential board candidates;
• the admissions office to identify and recruit strong students among one’s acquaintances, and to open doors to guidance counselors at strong public and private high schools;
• the development office to open doors to individuals, foundations, or corporations, who could provide gifts;
• the communications office and the Provost to identify and approach notable speakers and visitors-in-residence;
• and with the President’s Office to identify and approach outstanding honorary degree candidates.

Deploying each trustee’s reputational capital requires regular inventorying of board connections via surveys and individual conversations with the Trusteeship Committee and the administration to develop individual strategies and actions. The Reputation Task Force has developed a questionnaire that each trustee will be asked to fill out annually.

Some colleagues have said that there is risk involved whenever an organization’s board becomes more involved in strategic direction. Will members become too involved in managing rather than leading? Mutual respect for the boundaries that exist between board and administration, however, goes a long way toward ensuring a successful partnership. Trustees can be a tremendous asset that can truly make a difference in the life of an institution. As Susquehanna’s board continues its pursuit of great governance, it will evaluate the effectiveness of its work in reputation-building and other efforts aimed at enhancing the board’s value to the university.

*For more information on Susquehanna’s pursuit of great governance, please reference the spring 2005 FYI newsletter.

The social scene changed at Susquehanna University during the 2004-05 academic year, when national and university disciplinary action was taken against some of our fraternities and sororities and we began stricter enforcement of our alcohol policy. Students complained that the loss of their traditional social outlets – fraternity dance parties – left them with few nightlife opportunities on campus. Some students turned instead to off-campus parties or downtown establishments, which at times resulted in noise violations and other disturbances in the community and unhappy residents.

In response, Susquehanna worked with students over the past 18 months to explore possibilities for new social space on campus. A planning team spent a year gathering input from students and visiting other colleges with student-programmed social spaces to explore what has worked well. They found that nightclub-type facilities where access to alcohol was controlled were popular with students and successfully managed.

In planning the space, Susquehanna students expressed their desire for a place that would be less institutionalized than other spaces on campus and have more of an “industrial” or “underground” feel to it. They also wanted a venue to be student-designed and managed, and that would attract all levels of students from freshmen to seniors. Interested students met several times with the project’ architects, studio d’ARC from Pittsburgh, to help design the space.

Campus planners chose to renovate an existing storage building on campus near a railroad track. “Trax,” as the new space is called, opened in March 2006. It accommodates between 350 and 400 students, depending upon the event, and is designed to provide a positive atmosphere where students can hang out, grab a bite to eat, dance, listen to live music, or play pool. Students plan the activities which also will include theme parties and comedy nights. Trax features a dance floor, a DJ booth, game area, bar area, performance stage and outdoor patio. A series of projectors create lighting in ambient color suitable to the event and color kinetic lights can be programmed in a multitude of variations. Trax is open primarily on Friday and Saturday nights from about 9 p.m. to 1 or 2 a.m. and on select evenings, a limited amount of beer and wine is available to Susquehanna students 21 or older. The facility is staffed with students and professional members of the Division of Student Life.

We believe that providing a venue on campus where students of legal age can have beer or wine under controlled circumstances is a way to encourage responsible use of alcohol. What students experience in their four years of college is geared toward preparing for a life of independence and success, and knowing how to be responsible socially is an important part of their adult lives..

It is too soon to know whether this new space will encourage more students to remain on campus at nighttime and alleviate some tensions with our neighbors off-campus. Having listened to students’ concerns and hopes for Trax, however, our expectation is that it will be a place that students will lay claim to and know they had an important role in bringing about.