Take Back the Senate Campaign
The University and Faculty Senates, we are told, are merely advisory bodies that cannot make policy. But the University Senate constitution actually empowers the Senate with legislative authority over administrative, faculty welfare, educational, and research matters; see Articles III.1.a. And IV.1. In areas such as educational policy, the administration does bring policy changes to the Faculty Senate for a vote. But in other areas there is much spottier compliance. For example, the University’s protest policies have never been discussed or voted on by the Senate, even though the administration has repeatedly claimed that they are the product of shared governance. President Cunningham and Provost Croson have recently told those who object to policies concerning protest and other similar matters that they should change them through shared governance institutions but at the moment the mechanisms for doing so are dubious at best.
Let’s take up the challenge by transforming the Faculty Senate into the full-fledged legislative body that it needs to be. Let’s make it a body that takes the initiative rather than being one that just responds to proposals from the administration. Let’s demand that the Senate’s leadership, represented by the FCC, be more assertive in exercising the body’s legislative authority. Let’s push Senate leaders to object loudly when the administration circumvents shared governance institutions. Let’s insist that the FCC respect the will of the body and not ignore it out of “deference” for the administration, as it did following the vote of no confidence against the Provost and the Interim President in Summer 2024.
What can you do?
Let’s take up the challenge by transforming the Faculty Senate into the full-fledged legislative body that it needs to be. Let’s make it a body that takes the initiative rather than being one that just responds to proposals from the administration. Let’s demand that the Senate’s leadership, represented by the FCC, be more assertive in exercising the body’s legislative authority. Let’s push Senate leaders to object loudly when the administration circumvents shared governance institutions. Let’s insist that the FCC respect the will of the body and not ignore it out of “deference” for the administration, as it did following the vote of no confidence against the Provost and the Interim President in Summer 2024.
What can you do?
- Run for the Senate in Spring 2025 - Calls for volunteers to run for the Senate usually happen in April.
- Nominate yourself to serve on a senate committee (deadline February 17, 2025 - let us know which committees you nominate yourself for at [email protected]). You do not need to be a faculty senator to serve on a senate committee, and serving on a committee does not obligate you to attend or participate in senate parliamentary sessions.
- Sign up to serve as an alternate for existing senators (write to us at [email protected])
- Questions? Ideas about things we should be working on? You can get in touch with us at [email protected].