Advisory Boards and Higher Education's Urban Mission: Four Models

Abstract

As the technical assistance consultant to the Council of Independent Colleges' Implementing Urban Missions project, the author explores different models of advisory boards and their relationship to the urban mission of the colleges. Four models are presented, based on conceptual frameworks derived from two key articles on empowerment and citizen participation, and on grantee experiences. In cases where the urban mission seeks to encourage collaborative decision-making and to enhance community empowerment, it was found that the Hybrid Model (all partners/stakeholders) advisory board led to an optimum implementation of the urban mission goals: open governance, community and institutional empowerment, and substantive change in the higher education institution and the local community.