Shared Governance Addressed

Faculty Senate Council to vote on several policies

Sophie MattsonTHE SANTA CLARAFebruary 12, 2014

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]ue to brewing concerns over a strained relationship with the Board of Trustees, the Faculty Senate Council will vote this year on proposals aimed at bolstering Santa Clara’s shared governance system, which pledges to include faculty, staff and students in campus administrative decisions.

One set of the proposals, created by a Faculty Senate Council committee, calls for elected faculty representatives on the Board of Trustees and trustee committees such as the Academic Affairs Committee and Finance Committee. It also advises that the chair of the Board of Trustees attend at least one Faculty Senate Council meeting each academic year.

There is also a proposal to form a University Policy Committee to provide faculty input about budgetary issues, such as faculty salaries and administrative expenses. Additionally, there is a recommendation to hold anonymous faculty surveys of administrators every few years.

“Two resolutions that I am personally most interested in are getting a guaranteed representation for non-tenure stream faculty on the FSC ... because this is becoming an increasingly large (percentage) of our faculty,” said philosophy professor Michael Meyer, who helped draft the proposals, in an email. “These faculty lack the protection of tenure and yet must have a voice to express their unique needs.”

In November 2013, there was a motion in the Faculty Senate to begin looking at the issue of shared governance, according to political science associate professor James Lai, chair of the Faculty Senate Council. The Governance Assessment Committee was then formed to create these proposals.

History professor Nancy Unger, who served on the council from 2006 to 2010, said that she liked the proposals, but is doubtful they would have any impact unless the Board of Trustees responds.

“My frustration is that I see all effort coming from faculty and I don’t see anything coming from the trustees,” Unger said. “The Board of Trustees sees itself as quite separate from the faculty. I hope that I’m wrong about that, but I haven’t seen any signal from Board of Trustees that would make me see otherwise.”

According to Lai, even if the council approves the proposals, their effectiveness will depend on the response from university administrators.

“We can’t make a policy as a Faculty Senate Council that affects entire university,” Lai said. “At the end of the day, it’s up to those above us is if they want to proceed.”

Currently there are three Jesuit faculty members on the board of trustees. Lai said he hopes to increase the amount of faculty membership to increase communication.

“The Board of Trustees bear a heavy responsibility for the welfare and the future direction of (Santa Clara),” Meyer said. “Right now they have a fraught relationship with the Faculty Senate. This needs to be changed if Santa Clara is to become the best university it can be. Neither the Board of Trustees nor the faculty can do this alone.”

Lai said he hopes to invite Robert Finocchio, chair of the Board of Trustees, to a Faculty Senate meeting on May 13. He added that Santa Clara president Michael Engh, S.J., invited the university policy committees to a board of trustees luncheon on Friday.

Contact Sophie Mattson at smattson@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.