Elevating Shared Governance Central Washington University 2022-2023 Academic Year
Traditional shared governance is defined as the relationship between Trustees, Administration, and Faculty. Over the course of the academic year, faculty and academic administration will gather to review foundational statements regarding shared governance and then work to develop clarity around how we operationalize shared governance at Central Washington University.
Eventually, the conversation will need to include other voices, such as Staff and Students, as well as our Trustees. But before we do that, we should have an understanding of traditional academic shared governance and discuss how it currently exists at our university.
The following individuals agreed to participate as members of the core group for this conversation:
- Amy Claridge
- Walter Szeliga
- Greg Lyman
- Elvin Delgado
- Michelle Den Beste
- Sathy Rajendren
Mark Samples, as current Faculty Senate Chair, and Jim Wohlpart, as President, will be “executive sponsors” of this sensemaking activity, dipping in and out of conversations.
Key Statements on Shared Governance
Listed below are the key statements on Shared Governance over time. The two main sources for these statements come at this work from very different perspectives (AAUP from a faculty perspective, AGB from a Trustee perspective). The core group will read these statements, deepen their understanding of shared governance, and then discuss how shared governance is currently operationalized at CWU. They will then work to propose a more collaborative way in which we might operationalize shared governance, perhaps taking one central issue and using it as an example to deepen our work together.
The Foundational Joint Statement on Shared Governance:
- “Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities” (Founding Joint Statement on Shared Governance—ACE, AAUP, AGB, 1966)
American Association of University Professors (AAUP) statements:
- “On the Relationship of Faculty Governance to Academic Freedom” (AAUP, 1994)
- “The Role of Faculty in Budgetary and Salary Matters” (AAUP, 1972)
- “Statement on Academic Government for Institutions Engaged in Collective Bargaining” (AAUP, 1988)
- “The 2021 AAUP Shared Governance Survey” (AAUP, 2021)
Association of Governing Boards statements:
- “Board Responsibility for Institutional Governance” (AGB, 2010)
- “Statement on Shared Governance” (AGB, 2017)
- “Shared Governance: Is Okay Good Enough” (AGB, 2016 survey)
- “Shared Governance: Changing with the Times” (AGB, 2017)
Article in the American Association of State Colleges and Universities journal:
- “Building a Culture of Healthy Shared Governance” (AASCU, 2017)
Finally, an article that was published by faculty and administrators at UNI after Jim left:
- “From Shared Governance to Shared Leadership” (UNI, 2022)