On the Relevance of a Faculty Senate in the Modern U.S. University

My friend, Larry Catá Backer, is the incoming chair of Pennsylvania State University Faculty Senate.  On April 2, 2012, he delivered this address before a symposium sponsored by the American Association of University Professors.  

The address is sure to ruffle some feathers and is worth reading if you’re interested in issues of shared governance.  In it, Larry laments complex organizational structures “in which the appearance of participation is heightened while its actual effects are diminished.”

The specific focus is the faculty senate:

This organ of governance is sometimes trotted out for photo opportunity moments as proof of democratic engagement within non-profit organizations with a teaching and research mission. On some occasions it plays a formal role as a source of advice and consultation on matters of direct concern to faculty, the substance of which might or might not be embraced in whole or in part to by those with authority to act. . . .

Most of the time, however, the reality is quite distinct. I recall more than one occasion where members of faculty and administration (usually unit administrators) will ask pose questions going to the relevance of the faculty governance organization—for example, is a university faculty senate relevant to the modern public research university? What can a university faculty senate do that can’t be more effectively undertaken by efficient and well-meaning unit administrators and their entourages or by local unit faculty? This position is made stronger where administrative entourages are growing at faster rate than faculty hires. I have also heard of unit administrators and their subordinates who mock the Senate and sometimes seek to impede its work. The best expression of their sentiment went something like this: “There is no bigger waste of my time than having to deal with the Senate.”

Read the whole thing here.

 

Comments

[Joan Heminway]

Thanks for posting this, Kim. As the Past President of The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Faculty Senate, I am glad to see Larry speaking out on this. (I will tell him so, too.) So few law faculty members engage with the greater university in service like this. It is a real eye-opener.

[Kim Krawiec]

Thanks for this, Joan.

Sent from my iPad