Shared Governance Working Groups

In the spring 2023, our campus had a visit from the University Faculty Senate (UFS) in response to a request by the Senate.

After meeting with numerous stakeholders across the campus, the UFS visitation committee issued a report with 67 recommendations. In order to address these recommendations, three working groups were formed.

Below, please find their charges, as well as the updates they provided in November 2024.

Clarifying/Restructuring Shared Governance

This group will look at governance dynamics between Faculty at Large and Senate, possibly to recommend changes to existing governing structures; clarifying specifics roles among faculty, staff, administration, and students.

Group Members

• F@L: Mtume Gant, Paul Kaplan
• Cabinet/Admin: Patty Bice, Kelly Jackson
• PSC: Sheli Taylor, Katherine King
• PSGA: Nellie Duggan-Haas, Orion Morgan

This group meets every other week to address the following two areas:

1. Common definition of shared governance

The visitation report recommended “a broadly representative group work together to select an extant definition of shared governance, combine extant definitions, or create a Purchase-specific definition, and to incorporate it into founding, constitutive policy documents like the Purchase College Faculty Bylaws and the Articles of the Purchase College Senate.”

The workgroup reviewed the definition of governance in the articles of the College Senate, as well as definitions from other SUNY schools. They also took a look at the definition from the American Association of University Professors as a starting point. The group is working on recommendations for changes to the Purchase College Shared Governance definition for consideration and will circulate it for feedback.

2. Review of committees and governance structure to ensure that all constituencies on campus are equitable and responsible for shared governance

The visitation report noted that “There are overlapping, and conflicting, committees through governance (College Senate committees, Faculty at Large committees, Professional Staff Council committees) and administration. The articles themselves should be revised to improve structures and restore trust.” The report continues: “Sharing power does not mean less power; it means that the process has credibility and legitimacy in the eyes of all participants. It means that each party has an equal voice and a place at the table. For this reason, the most important recommendation, from which everything else follows, is to change how the articles are passed.”

The workgroup reviewed the College Senate articles and how the related committees are currently set-up. They noted that clarity is needed in particular around the Faculty at Large, Professional Staff Council, and the Purchase Student Government Association. They are working on recommendations for a governance structure that will equally empower each group as outlined in the visitation report and will circulate it for feedback.

Improving Campus Culture

This group will find ways to improve communication and work through differences among various groups on campus. It will also look to find positive ways in which the campus can engage together collectively, or in smaller groups.

Group Members

• F@L: No faculty representative
• Cabinet/Admin: Mike Kopas, Kathleen Farrell
• PSC: Betsy Aldredge, Christine Attanasio
• PSGA: Chanelle McKenzie

This workgroup has met over the past few months to discuss not only the issues discussed in the UFS report, but also the ones that have come to light since then. They noted that they are disappointed to currently have no faculty representative. As their role is to make recommendations not run programs, these are their current recommendations:

• Conduct a survey about the campus climate to hear from the wider community.
• More opportunities for onboarding, professional development, and creating cohorts of new faculty and staff in order to creating a better campus culture as soon as someone joins our community.
• More opportunities for socializing to foster community. They want to hear from faculty, students, and staff about what kind of activities and formats would be most appealing to the campus.
• More opportunities for civil dialogue and discourse like the Conflict Negotiation workshop held at the Multicultural Center in November.
• More opportunities for cross campus discussions in small groups, potentially surrounding a common read or common screening, to bring people together.

Title IX/DEI

This group will look to improve communication among various groups on campus as they concern Title IX/DEI issues, especially between students and staff. Much of this will center on making students aware of existing policies and procedures, but it will also be about hearing student concerns about the issues most vital to them.

Group Members

• F@L: Janis Astor del Valle, Andrew Salomon
• Cabinet/Admin: Lisa Miles-Boyce, Dayton Tucker
• PSC: Lizz Elvira, Nicholas Garmendiz
• PSGA: Nick Russo, Ashley Friedman

This group has met with members of Counseling and Behavioral Services center to discuss the issues.

They are working on how to better communicate to students and entire campus exactly what the role is of the Title IX office is and how it differs from various Campus Advocacy Services, especially in times of crisis.

This group is also seeking another student to round out perspective.

These workgroups will submit draft reports in February and final reports in April 2025.