Governing boards of colleges and universities in the United States

In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual colleges and universities, or both. In general they operate as a board of directors, and they vary by formal name, size, powers, and membership. In some states, members are appointed by the governor.

In some private institutions of higher learning, non-governing boards may also be appointed. These boards' members' duties often include but are not limited to major gift cultivation and fundraising.

Board names

Directors

The governing board of Georgetown University is known as the President and Directors of Georgetown College.

Curators

The governing board of the University of Missouri System, and of each individual campus in that system, is known as the Board of Curators. This terminology is also used by another Missouri public institution, Lincoln University.

However, the state's other public institutions use different terms. Five use Board of Governors (see below), and three use Board of Regents.

Governors

The governing bodies at the University of North Carolina, University of Florida, and the Colorado State University system are known as the board of governors. Public institutions in Rhode Island are also governed by a board of governors.

Five public institutions in Missouri that are not part of the UM System, among them Missouri State University, are overseen by boards of governors. The two largest universities in West Virginia, West Virginia University and Marshall University, also maintain boards of governors.

Overseers

The Harvard Board of Overseers (more formally The Honorable and Reverend Board of Overseers) is one of Harvard University's two governing boards.

Regents

The Regents of the University of California govern the University of California system, with one exception: the original endowment that allowed for the creation of UC's Hastings College of the Law stipulated that it could not be governed by the Regents. However, Hastings Law degrees are issued in the name of the UC Regents.

The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York oversees all public education, including the State University of New York (SUNY), affiliated community colleges, and the K-12 public school system (run by the New York State Education Department) via the Regents Examinations. High school graduates may receive Regents Scholarships to defray expenses at SUNY universities.

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia is the oversight authority for thirty universities and colleges in the state of Georgia (including the University of Georgia and Georgia Institute of Technology) along with the state archives and the state public library system.

The boards of the University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Texas, Texas Tech University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Texas A&M, University of Maryland, College Park, University of Colorado, University of New Mexico, University of Houston System, and the University of North Texas are known as the board of regents.

Supervisors

In the State of Louisiana, the governing board of each of the four public university systems is known as the Board of Supervisors.

Trustees

All schools within the Ohio Higher Education System are governed by individual Boards of Trustees, including Miami University and Ohio State University. The governing body at Duke University is known as the board of trustees while each college and the graduate school maintains its own board of visitors. The University of South Carolina, Michigan State University, and the University of Connecticut are also governed by boards of trustees.

Visitors

Boards governing public institutions of higher education in the state of Virginia are known as the board of visitors. This includes the The College of William & Mary, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, James Madison University, Radford University, University of Mary Washington, Longwood University, Virginia Military Institute, and George Mason University. Terminology for private institutions can vary. Regent University once used "board of visitors", but now uses "board of trustees". Washington and Lee University also uses "board of trustees".

Institutions in North Carolina use several different names for their boards. The University of North Carolina—which includes all 16 four-year public institutions in the state, plus a residential high school—is overseen by a board of governors. Some individual campuses within the system, such as East Carolina University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have boards of visitors.

The bodies at the United States Military Academy, United States Air Force Academy, United States Naval Academy, and Clemson University are known as the board of visitors.