In most European countries, university governance models have undergone modernization, the hallmarks of which manifest in new (modernized) governing bodies (i.e., university boards and councils). These governing bodies hold power, both formal and informal, to influence institutional policy and are frequently seen as institutions encapsulating the changing role of universities. To address a paucity of research on the influence of these governing bodies, the current paper examines the views of university board members in four European countries (Finland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden). It reports and discusses the empirical findings of a large-scale online survey of university board members (N = 2455), focusing on their attitudes towards the new roles of universities amid growing societal, political and economic pressure to revisit their major functions and policy principles.