Trustees are generally elected at the annual meeting in June to three-year terms. The By-laws state that a trustee may be elected to three three-year terms, although some trustees are retained for longer by a vote of the Board. Alumni Trustees may serve only two, three-year terms.

The chairman of the Board and president of the University are ex officio voting members of all standing committees. The president is a paid employee of the University.

A handful of people have run Colgate University for years: the members of the Board Executive Committee, with a policy-setting quorum of only seven people; the members of the Nominating Committee, which selects a slate of Trustees that is unanimously approved; and the executive staff.

By name, they are: Chairman of the Board Daniel B. Hurwitz ’86;; Vice Chairman Gretchen H. Burke ’81 and Vice Chairman Michael J. Herling ’79; Interim President Jill Harsin; Vice President for Finance and Administration Brian Hutzley ; Vice President and Dean of the College Suzy M. Nelson; Provost/Dean of the Faculty Douglas A. Hicks; Vice president and Senior Advisor; Secretary to the Board of Trustees Robert L. Tyburski; Vice President for Institutional Advancement Murray Decock ’80; Vice President and Dean of Admission Gary Ross; Director of the Division of Physical Education, Recreation and Athletics Vicky Chun; Vice President for Communications Rachel Reuben.

All with the exception of Hurwitz, Burke and Herling are employees.