Citizen‐Trustees, Citizens United , and Citizens Divided: The Role of Trustees in Preserving American Higher Education and Democracy

ABSTRACT Boards of trustees are vital in safeguarding institutional autonomy and ensuring educational quality for an informed American citizenry. Their ability to do so is increasingly impacted by three major changes: the 2010 Supreme Court decision on Citizens United defining corporations as having citizens’ rights to “free speech”, the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol, and the November 6, 2024 federal election. These entwine to place American democracy and higher education at an inflection point. Higher education's future will be shaped by the interplay of new power structure representatives with citizen trusteeship, the actions of governing boards and higher education chief executives. This chapter, using social influence/power bases theory analyzes citizen‐trusteeship's mission, roles, and future.