A board of governors is usually the governing board of a public entity.

Many public services, such as universities or federal independent agencies are created as corporations owned by governnment. The British Broadcasting Corporation was managed by a board of governors, though this role has now been taken by the BBC Trust. In other cases, government services are provided by "independent establishments," which provide an environment mixing a corporation and a government agency. These, such as the United States Postal Service, are governed by a board of governors. A more well known example is the Federal Reserve System, which is also partially governed by a board of governors.

United States universities

In the United States, public universities often have a similar government known as a board of regents. However, in West Virginia, all public colleges and universities are governed by 12-member boards of governors. The members of the boards of governors in West Virginia are appointed by the governor of the state. The boards consist of 9 lay members and a representative from the faculty, classified staff, and students. Several Virginia institutions such as the University of Virginia (and the colleges that were spun off it like University of Mary Washington), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (and colleges spun off it like Radford University), and the College of William and Mary, are each governed by a Board of Visitors. (This naming is unusual in the USA; many institutions have a Board of Visitors, but this normally acts in an advisory capacity rather than a governing one, and reports to a separate governing board.) In New York State, the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York oversees public education, including SUNY, affiliated community colleges, and the entire public school system via the Regents Examinations. High school graduates may receive Regents Scholarships to defray expenses at NY universities.

Some private corporations, typically nonprofit corporations, style their governing boards as boards of governors.

References

• West Virginia Policies for Boards of Governors
• Board of Visitors web page of the University of Virginia
• Board of Visitors web page of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Administration web page at the College of William and Mary
• Radford University Board of Visitors web page of Radford University Board of Visitors

See also

• Board of directors
• Board of trustees
• Board of visitors