Good to Great Governance – American Association for Laboratory Animal Science

In the September 2013  issue of FORUM magazine, published by the Association Forum of Chicagoland, three stories of changing governance from good to great are shared in an article “Good to Great Governance: Three Tales of Change.” See below for an excerpt from the article on McKinley’s work with client American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS).

In June 2013, the AALAS Board of Trustees voted to adopt a new governance structure and approved a transition plan. The governance review has been in process for two years. Although the board’s most recent action is pivotal, changes to the bylaws, policies and procedures will need to be formally approved in October. The association had not conducted a governance review in more than 25 years. The last change, in the early 1990s, was related to the composition of the Executive Committee. However, trustees have been elected by geographic representation since the 1960s, and the district trustee is a deeply entrenched value in the organization’s culture.

 Hybrid Model

After extensive education about various models of board structure and deliberation about the values associated with each, a hybrid model — one that combines geographically elected trustees and at-large trustees — emerged as the best model for the association. The board currently has 16 trustees (two per district) and seven officers (president, past president, vice-president, vice president-elect and secretary/treasurer, with the executive director and legal counsel as ex-officio board members). All officers, except those who are ex-officio, are elected by the national membership. The new board will have eight district trustees (one per district) elected by members who reside in the respective districts, four at-large trustees who will be elected by the national membership and the same complement of officers. Continue reading…