Ward to staff: Get involved

Chancellor emphasizes shared governance
Chancellor David Ward is encouraging academic staff to get involved in the university. In a memo to deans, directors, department chairs and faculty, Ward outlines the university’s shared governance system and urges academic staff to take part in boards, committees and the Academic Staff Assembly.

Shared governance, which gives faculty, staff and students a role in setting campus policy, is authorized by state law.

“Our system works most effectively when all participants feel welcome to come forward to offer their energy and expertise in the shared governance system,” Ward writes in the memo.

The memo arose from conversations between the chancellor and the Academic Staff Executive Committee about making sure that staff are given the opportunity to take part in governance activities.

Academic Staff Assembly and Faculty Senate policies call for units and managers to provide flexibility in schedules so staff can serve on committees and other shared governance bodies.

In the memo, Ward asks supervisors to make possible academic staff participation in governance activities.

“Full-time employment in a work unit or office should not serve as a barrier to statute-granted participation in shared governance,” the chancellor writes.