ABSTRACT
Executive directors and public members surveyed were asked if there are advantages in having public members on a board of directors. Given the nature of the responses noted so far concerning the advantages of having a public member on the governing body, it is not surprising that some executive directors also underscored the significance of the representative function resulting from public involvement. The public members have also scored runs as evidenced by their and the agency leaders' acknowledgement of changes in policies, practices, and perspectives due to the efforts of this constituency. In theory, the creation of the public member put a new face on old institutions that was to empower new groups and to facilitate the participation of previously suppressed interests. The institutional community, like the political community, is founded on a shared view of its history and its goals, a common understanding of the logic of appropriateness, or the rights and responsibilities of specific role relationships.
