A school for corporate directors will swing its doors open this September. Companies have been invited to attend by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, the 10th-largest U.S. public pension fund. SWIB's reason for setting up the school, one of the first by a public investor, is the state of corporate governance: Rather than grumble about how poor it is or sell off shares of an offending company, the board is offering directors the opportunity to educate themselves. "We wanted to increase communication with companies and to raise directors' level of professionalism," says Cynthia Richson, investor responsibility program manager for the investment board. Richson points out that when SWIB talks with corporate boards, it's often because pension directors have a problem with the way the company is being run. This program is seen as a way to increase the pension board's confidence in its investments and make meetings with corporate boards less adversarial.
Invitations to the two-and-a-half-day program, to be held in Madison, went out to the 750 companies in which the state invests, plus many others. While many high-profile companies such as General Electric are on the list, SWIB is more concerned with companies less in the public eye.
Speech and panel topics include director professionalism, compensation and litigation issues and how to create strong directors. The education doesn't come cheap: Tuition is $2,995.
Sweetening the pot for corporate attendees is accreditation by Institutional Shareholder Services, a proxy advisory firm that makes voting recommendations to large shareholders. Boards with directors who attend the school will score higher in ISS's rating system.
