Can there be societal trustees in America today? 

The author begins by observing that in European, Asian and even American societies, “certain individuals . . . have been invested with considerable advisory or decision-making powers because of their background, expertise, connections[.]”  He characterizes these figures as “societal trustees.”  Many of these “trustees” were educators—either college Presidents or professors, such as the late Yale President Kingman Brewster.   The author conducted a study of community leaders and average citizens in Philadelphia, asking both groups about societal trustees, and who they considered current “societal trustees” to be.  Respondents from both groups answered that they felt there has been a decline in societal trustees, and named many television personalities and some journalists as people whom they considered to be societal trustees.  The best-known figures today are not Kingman Brewster and Dean Acheson, but Oprah Winfrey and other celebrities.  

Higher education’s leaders need to make intentional efforts to develop new trustees and foster trusteeship through decisions regarding who to invite to speak on campus, to whom to award honorary degrees, and what lives and issues are to be emphasized or included in the university curriculum.  The author also notes that tomorrow’s societal trustees may look different than yesterdays.  They may not be educators or statesmen, and they may be groups rather than individuals.   

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