Next to hiring the president, a board's most important responsibility is maintaining the integrity and health of its institution's academic program. The complex division of labor that separates the lines of administrative and academic authority on most campuses means that many conscientious trustees find themselves in a quandary. If they exercise trustees' responsibility to define an institution's mission and protect the institution's financial integrity by asking tough questions about academic initiatives, are they trespassing on the turf of faculty and academic administrators? If they question proposals for new programs or major program revisions, are they wandering into a thicket where they lack the knowledge to make constructive judgments about what academic actions will best serve their institution's interests? This article describes how the trustees of Hiram college have struck a delicate balance that respects both academic custom and the board's responsibility to authorize initiatives that alter an institution's mission or make long-term resource requirements, providing a model for other boards with the same concerns.