The University of Miami has traditionally attracted people of extraordinary ability and vision to its governing board. The first Board of Regents of the University of Miami was founded in 1926 and chaired by William E. Walsh, a Miami Beach municipal judge. Judge Walsh remained chairman until 1929, when he and other board members resigned in the wake of the financial collapse that followed the end of the Miami land boom and the hurricane of 1926. Their hope was that a newly constituted board would project a positive image to the community during trying times. The subsequent board consisted of only ten members, including founding University of Miami President Bowman Foster Ashe, formerly an economics professor at the University of Pittsburgh, who briefly chaired the new board. Other members of that board include legendary South Florida pioneers and business leaders George Merrick, Theodore Dickinson, E. B. Douglas, David Fairchild, James H. Gilman, Richardson Saunders, Frank B. Shutts, Joseph H. Adams, and J. C. Penney.
In July 1934, the University of Miami was reincorporated, and the University of Miami Board of Trustees was established. For a few months under the new charter, President Ashe and four members of his administration comprised the board. By 1940, community leaders were replacing faculty and administration as trustees. Throughout the ensuing decades, the trustees have provided the guidance and focus on partnership with the administration and faculty to firmly establish the University of Miami among the top research universities in the world.
To better manage the University’s upward trajectory, today’s University of Miami Board of Trustees has forty-nine voting members, including one alumni representative, one student trustee, and five ex-officio members, as well as twenty-eight non-voting Emeritus Trustees.
Ex-officio members, who serve by virtue of their positions in the University, include the President of the University, the President and Immediate Past President of the Citizens Board, and the President, President-Elect, and Immediate Past President of the Alumni Association.
The board holds two regularly scheduled meetings each year (generally in October and February), and an annual meeting in May. The administration strives to bring policy matters to the board at each meeting for thorough evaluation, discussion, and recommendation or approval.
Trustee responsibilities at the University of Miami include i) electing or removing the President of the University; ii) approving the University's long-range plans and major changes in academic policy; iii) ensuring financial solvency; iv) maintaining the physical plant; v) fund raising; and vi) enhancing the University’s public image. The board’s strong committee structure combined with the dedication and diligence of individual board members effectively accomplishes these responsibilities. To assist committees in their deliberations, the administration of the University provides complete information to each committee member in advance of meetings. Committee chairs keep the full board apprised of their committee’s decisions and/or recommendations on a timely basis. Additionally, the administration sends a report of significant University events to each trustee shortly before each board meeting.
