Governance Review without Tears

• Published in: Academe Vol. 92; no. 6; pp. 20 - 26
• Main Authors: Davis, Lynn K., Page, Deborah L.
• Format: Magazine Article Trade Publication Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington American Association of University Professors 2006
• Subjects: Ad hoc committees; Administrative support; Bylaws; Collective bargaining; College Administration; College students; Colleges; Corporate governance; Exchange programs; Executive committees; Governance; Higher education; Interim reports; Meetings; Participative Decision Making; Political debate; Review committees; School Restructuring; Support groups; Teachers; Tenure; Voting
• ISSN: 0190-2946; 2162-5247
• DOI: 10.2307/40253519

The faculty at the Raymond Walters College of the University of Cincinnati recently conceived, developed, and implemented a complete governance review that the faculty approved unanimously. Raymond Walters College is one of the sixteen colleges of the University of Cincinnati which offers transfer programs, associate degrees, and technical baccalaureate degrees. The college has a long history of active shared governance. The faculty participate fully in a system of college committees that handle academic affairs; faculty reappointment, promotion, and tenure; curriculum and assessment; student honors and probation; faculty development; and issues involving strategic planning and infrastructure management. In this article, the authors discuss the governance restructuring process of the college. They emphasize that the restructuring was an enriching and uniting experience for their college. Senior faculty members were able to share their wisdom and provide leadership. Junior faculty members became thoroughly immersed in the topic of governance and had the opportunity to interact with senior faculty colleagues outside of their departments. The processes created the expectation that junior faculty members would participate in institutional governance throughout their careers. Indeed, they are now reaping the benefits of their efforts, a more thoughtfully crafted document to guide their faculty, and a faculty that has a strong sense of its role and responsibilities in shared governance. (Contains 1 note.)