COURSE NUMBER: MBA292B.11    

This course is cross-listed with EWMBA

COURSE TITLE: Nonprofit Boards and Governance

UNITS OF CREDIT: 1

INSTRUCTOR: Paul Jansen

E-MAIL ADDRESS: paul55jansen@gmail.com

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME:  Sundays, 2/12 & 3/5, 9 am-5 pm

Please note the unorthodox nature of this course, which meets all day on two Sundays (2/12 & 3/5). To earn a passing grade, you must attend BOTH class sessions in their entirety.

PREREQUISITE(S): None

CLASS FORMAT: Lecture, discussion, mini-cases, discussions with directors and EDs from local nonprofits

REQUIRED READINGS: Primarily published articles

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: 50% participation, 50% for 2 case write ups

CAREER FIELD:  This course is relevant for those who a) aspire to work in a nonprofit organization and will have to deal with a board of directors, or b) plan to work in the private or public sector and anticipate serving on nonprofit boards at some time in their
career.   The course will help students develop a strong sense for what effective boards do and how they can become a high impact nonprofit director.

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:  This one-unit course provides students with a working knowledge of the role played by boards of directors in the nonprofit sector and prepares them to be active and informed members of nonprofit boards or to work with those boards.  Specifically, the course will explore the following aspects of boards:

• Why boards exist, their legal and fiduciary responsibilities, and the differences between for-profit and nonprofit boards, including Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirements
• The responsibilities of nonprofit boards, with a special focus on practical issues that are likely to emerge as boards seek to fulfill their responsibilities?
• The enablers of good board performance and how good boards deal with the many practical challenges and tradeoffs in executing these best practices?
• How boards interact with chief executives, staff and community?
• Board assessment tools and other resources board members can draw on to improve governance?
• How should you think about joining a nonprofit board and becoming an effective director?

Students will have the opportunity to meet members of the Bay Area nonprofit sector, including current board members and chief executives, to discuss their roles and learn firsthand the challenges facing these different leaders in an increasingly competitive nonprofit marketplace. 

The course is recommended for students wishing to learn about the nonprofit sector, for those who likely to serve in a board capacity during their successful business careers, or those considering leadership roles in a nonprofit, thereby having to work with a nonprofit board. 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Paul Jansen is an adjunct professor at Haas.  Paul spent 25 years as a consultant at McKinsey & Company before retiring in 2009.  In 2001, he co-founded the Firm’s Social Sector Practice.  At various times has held roles as leader of the global nonprofit practice, knowledge leader and director of the global philanthropy practice.  In these roles, his client work focused on strategy, organization development, and operations issues, where he gained particular experience in global health, higher education, nonprofit governance and public-private partnerships.

Paul has authored a number of articles including “For Nonprofits, Time is Money” which stimulated sector-wide discussion on the strategic benefit of increasing endowment payout rates.  With former Senator Bill Bradley wrote an article published in the Harvard Business Review, entitled “The Non-Profit Sector’s $100 Billion Opportunity”, which again challenged sector beliefs about the potential for improved performance.  Paul has also co-authored a report entitled “The Dynamic Board: Lessons from High-Performing Nonprofits”, which examines board governance issues unique to the nonprofit community.   Paul co-authored a report released in 2009 on philanthropic prizes “And the Winner is…Capturing the Promise of Philanthropic Prizes”
Paul received a chemical engineering degree from the University of California at Berkeley and earned his MBA at the Harvard Business School.  His volunteer work includes serving as chair of the Board of CARE USA, which is committed to reducing poverty worldwide and as a director of the SCE Fund.   He also serves on advisory boards for Inside Track, an organization that seeks to improve college retention, Imagine H20, which seeks to impact water issues, Strive for College, which strives to increase college attendance by high risk students.  Paul also spent 15 years serving on the board of the San Francisco Zoological Society, including 4 years as chairman on the board.  In the for-profit sector, Paul serves as the lead independent director on the board of Zymergen, a synthetic biology start-up..