Board of Governors

According to the ballot proposal passed at the 2011 Constitutional Convention, the charge of the Board of Governors is as follows:

• The Board of Governors shall elect a five-member Executive Committee, empowered to act on behalf of the Board as specified in written Bylaws.
• The Board of Governors shall be responsible for financial oversight and for making the HathiTrust’s cost and financial information transparent to its members.
• The Board of Governors shall create committees and working groups to carry out the Trust’s work and to develop strategies and priorities.
• The Board of Governors shall develop a set of Bylaws and present it to the membership for ratification or rejection within six months of its formation.

Bylaws

Download the HathiTrust Bylaws (adopted 12 February 2013) [PDF]

Composition

The Board of Governors is to be composed of 13 members. Six of these seats are to be filled by the Founding Members: California (2 seats); The University of Chicago, University of Iowa, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University and University of Wisconsin-Madison (2 seats); Indiana University (1 seat) and the University of Michigan (1 seat). Six seats are to be filled through elections of the voting members of HathiTrust. Individuals from Founding Member institutions may not be on the ballot for rotating seats. The Chief Executive Officer is a non-voting member of the Board of Governors.

Lengths of Terms

Candidates are elected for five-year terms. In order to ensure flexibility and yet maintain continuity, candidates will serve according to the following staggered schedule:

• The two candidates with the most votes will serve five-year terms.
• The candidates with the third and fourth highest vote totals will serve four-year terms.
• The candidates with the fifth and sixth highest vote totals will serve three-year terms.

As terms expire, subsequent elections will be for three-year terms. New elections will take place beginning in 2015, using the same methods as the 2012 election, when the three-year terms expire. Should a Board member leave his or her administrative post (e.g., retire as a university librarian) there will be a special election, using the same rules as the election of 2012, to fill the remainder of the term.

Current Membership

Members of the Board