Presidential Interactions with Faculty Senates: Expectations and Practices

Shared governance is an important element in higher education decision making. Through the joint decision making process, faculty members are provided an opportunity to help shape the future of an institution while increasing support for decisions that are made. Presidents, those leaders who are legally bound to guide their institutions, must find ways to collaborate effectively with faculty members in making decisions, and the first step in this process is understanding when and how presidents and faculty leaders interact. In the current study, a national sample of college presidents reported their preparation for the presidency, their perceptions of the functions of a faculty senate, and ultimately, the locations for important interactions between presidents and faculty senates. Results indicated that presidents, regardless of their preparation, found official functions to be the most important for communicating, although, those presidents with academic backgrounds were more likely to perceive faculty senates as having a role in all aspects of an institutions management.

Making the Case and Laying the Groundwork for Integrating Age-Friendly Practices Into a University Strategic Plan

A crucial first step in preparing to become an Age-Friendly University (AFU) is seeking endorsement from the campus community and leadership. This presentation describes the mapping of the AFU principles to the strategic plan and initiatives of Western Oregon University, leading to endorsement by its faculty senate, and highlights a study of the older community members’ use of the university, laying the groundwork for advancing age-friendliness on campus. Data were collected through surveys (N=46), interviews (N=9), and photovoice method (N=7) with older adults, and data were analyzed using SPSS, team coding, and intensive group discussion to develop categories and themes. Themes emerged related to how the college campus is used by older adults, the need to promote lifelong learning to the community, and the need to address accessibility issues in order to be more age-friendly, providing helpful insight to other institutions of higher education seeking to join the AFU network.

The State of Faculty Involvement in Governance in the United States

The purpose of the study was to profile the state of faculty governance in US higher education. The survey was based the National Data Base on Faculty Involvement in Governance. Using a similar protocol, the study used survey research with a sample of research university faculty senate presidents. Results include a growing use of non-tenure track faculty and faculty with little senate experience being elected to lead senates. The presidents indicated that the skills most necessary to them are problem analysis, judgement, sensitivity, and oral/written communication skills. They perceived their primary task as developing a sense of direction for the senate, and the most critical issue they face is one of determining institutional priorities. The study was limited to only one type of institution (research-centered) in one country (the United States), and with a 38% response rate to the survey. A growing number of non-tenure track faculty have been identified as leading senates and that there is a group of ‘fast-track’ senators with limited experience being elected into leadership positions. This means that there may be significant changes in how shared governance is being socially constructed. The study re-establishes the annual survey of faculty senate leaders, and longitudinal data will be critical in determining the future of faculty senates. Findings have immediacy in helping senate presidents and administrators understand the changing role of senates, how they see themselves, and what they value.

The faculty Senate

The textbook is devoted to the activities of the Dean's corps of higher educational institutions. The chapters of the book are combined into five modules: the faculty and its head in the University management system, technology management faculty, management of economic and legal activities, management of educational programs, monitoring and evaluation of the faculty. Special attention in the new saniutele computerize the activities of faculty working in the electronic information educational environment. The textbook is intended for deans and their deputies, methodical workers of deans, reserve for nomination, but will also be useful to all management personnel of higher educational institutions.

Bull's-Eye

In this interpretive autoethnography1 (Denzin, 2014), the author rewrites a Faculty Senate survey from her university on Ohio HB 48, a bill that allows licensed individuals to conceal and carry guns in public places such as schools and day care centers. The use of personal narrative and satire highlights the dialectic of violence as natural aggression versus violence as a learned and lauded cultural behavior.

Creating an Effective Faculty Senate Leadership Team

The purpose of this chapter is to examine how gender positively influences processes and procedures of faculty-led groups within higher educational institutions. A closer inspection of the gender makeup of these faculty-led groups may shed light on the role gender plays in shaping the policies pursued. There will be a section on the effectiveness of using an online platform in terms of efficiency and communication dynamics. The authors, who served as faculty senate leaders, will use a case study approach, plus their own reflections, to explore ways to improve institutional effectiveness within faculty governance.

The President’s Sabbatical

Yielding to the pressure of the faculty senate requesting sabbaticals, Dr. P.R. Coots, president of the much less than prestigious Port Bumby Avenue College, comes up with an unconventional solution—he grants a sabbatical to …himself. The fact that he hasn’t taught a class in over 20 years does not bother him.