Ron Peterson, a partner at Jenner and Block, poses for a portrait in his office in Chicago on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. Peterson is a 1970 Speech and Political Science graduate of Wisconsin's Ripon College. He is now chair of the school's Board of Trustees, though he practices law in Chicago.
As challenges facing small colleges grow, they rely more and more on smart, well-informed trustees to keep the institutions -- and their presidents -- on their toes. But for small-town colleges of modest means, getting new board members up to speed on higher education's current challenges is itself a challenge. Not every local bank president or construction-company owner knows what's going on in admissions and financial aid, for instance -- to say nothing of student affairs. We'll take a look at what works for some small institutions.
Photo by Alyssa Schukar