University Board and Performance

Abstract

This dissertation examines the impact of board of director characteristics and policies on nonprofit performance. Using data collected through a survey of nonprofit colleges and universities, I provide evidence that specific board member characteristics and board monitoring policies are vital in shaping both the financial and nonfinancial success of nonprofit institutions of higher education. Related to board characteristics, results indicate that bigger boards with more major donors are consistently associated with better performing organizations, confirming my board contribution hypothesis. These results are in addition to noteworthy relationships between nonprofit success and the number of meetings held by an organization as well as the impact of recruiting board members who serve on other nonprofit boards. In terms of board monitoring, findings confirm regulatory and advisory recommendations that the use of a conflict of interest policy, disclosure of business relationships, nominating and compensation committees are important aspects of board development in addition to longer board terms. These relationships confirm all three monitoring hypotheses, suggesting that board disclosures, organization, and independence all have an important impact on success when it is measured as organizational efficiency, one of the most studied and relied upon measures of performance in the nonprofit sector. This work makes important, initial forays into the relationships between board of director qualities and nonprofit performance. Although limited by the relatively small sample of colleges and universities, given the lack of public data available related to nonprofit boards, this study is unique in the ability to analyze nonprofit boards with both financial and nonfinancial performance measures.