BY KELLY HAND
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the AAUP’s 1966 Statement on the Government of Colleges and Universities. In its introduction, the Statement gives as one reason for promoting a common understanding of principles of shared governance that “a college or university in which all the components are aware of their interdependence, of the usefulness of communication among themselves, and of the force of joint action will enjoy increased capacity to solve educational problems.”
In his September–October online Academe article, “The Role of the College of Pharmacy in the Development of Shared Governance at Western New England University,” Ronny Priefer emphasizes the importance of including professional schools in governance structures. In 2012, Western New England University’s accrediting body noted that because its faculty senate did not include the School of Law or College of Pharmacy, it represented only 60 percent of the university’s five colleges and schools. In 2013, Priefer served as a representative of the College of Pharmacy on a task force that worked to address that problem and to develop a proposal for a new university-wide senate. His article outlines the challenges and ultimate rewards of that process.
Another opportunity to learn about governance from institutional case studies is the AAUP’s upcoming Shared Governance Conference and Workshops, which will be held September 30–October 2 in Washington, DC. The conference will include paper presentations—several of them focused on governance at individual institutions—and a series of training workshops for current and future governance leaders that will be spread out over the three days of the conference. Registration ends on September 26, and spaces are filling up quickly. Visit the conference web page to learn more and register.
Articles from the current and past issues of Academe are available online. AAUP members receive a subscription to the magazine, available both by mail and as a downloadable PDF, as a benefit of membership.
