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The CEOs and Billionaire Investors Governing America’s Top Universities

From Microsoft’s Satya Nadella to GM’s Mary Barra, some of corporate America’s most powerful leaders also help govern elite universities.

The most influential figures at America’s largest corporations don’t just gather in company boardrooms; many also sit at university trustee tables, where Fortune 500 CEOs and Wall Street financiers help govern some of the country’s most prestigious academic institutions. These leaders, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the University of Chicago, General Motors CEO Mary Barra at Duke and financier Jim Coulter at Stanford, serve without direct compensation. They help lead fundraising, offer strategic advice and even shape universities’ long-term visions.

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“This type of participation stands at the intersection of legitimacy enhancement, corporate social responsibility and old-fashioned ego-boosting,” Ethan Ris, chair of the Department of Educational Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, told Observer. “When a corporation can brag that its leaders serve on university boards, that labels it as both brains-adjacent and service-oriented, since most universities are nonprofits and trustees don’t get paid.”

University board memberships benefit elite interests on both sides. “The businesses get legitimacy, and the universities get direct access to rich people and rich companies that can steer big gifts and contracts,” Ris added. For many companies, universities also often serve as pipelines for talent.

Most corporate leaders,........

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