October 27, 2005
Faculty Senate 2005: Optimism and shared governance
The subject of shared governance remains a major focus for the UW Faculty Senate this year, as Ashley Emery, professor of mechanical engineering, steps up to become chair. The Senate has its first meeting of the school year at 2:30 today in its usual location, 301 Gowen.
Emery, whose time at the UW dates back four decades to 1961, joked, “When I decided to run, I said to the Senate, ‘I have probably been here longer than most members of the Senate have been alive.'” Over those years, he said, “I have seen a great number of things change.”
Dating back even farther than Emery’s arrival at the UW is an agreement on shared governance signed in 1956 by then-President Henry Schmitz and several faculty members that was placed in Volume Two of the University Handbook. Showing that the words of the statement ring as true today as nearly a half-century back, President Emmert and current administrators and Faculty Senate officials have signed a letter restating their commitment to those principles.
Casual and conversational in tone, Emery expressed confidence in President Mark Emmert and newly hired Provost Phyllis Wise, describing the latter as “a dynamic, determined individual.” He sounded a largely optimistic note on the coming year, along with a few minor concerns.
Emery said some reforms might be in order for the Senate’s various Faculty Councils, subgroups of the Senate that operate in an advisory capacity. The makeup of the councils need not necessarily change, he said, but their various responsibilities might be reviewed for possible redefinition. “The councils were well designed at first, but now we want to make sure they still mesh well with the evolving administrative structure of the new president and provost.” He added that following such a review, “I would not be surprised to see substantial reassignments.”
He also noted that, according to University policies, the president or someone designated by that office should sit in on meetings of the various Faculty Councils. Emery suggested that such a change “will guarantee that the Council knows the voice of the administration. I’m hoping it ensures that the Councils get the information they need and the story going back is a coherent one.”
Emery said he also favors making the tenure review process more transparent for faculty. Over the years, he said, if you were a faculty member seeking promotion, “you had no way of knowing whether you’d been considered for promotion.” He smiled as he described how the old departmental thinking on such promotion questions: “If you’re as smart as we think you are, you should be smart enough to know what to do to get promoted.”
Regarding the recent surveys conducted across campus in connection with the Leadership, Community and Values Initiative, Emery noted that approximately one-half of participants say they don’t know how the administration makes its decisions and nearly one-third admit a distrust of the administration. “It’s disheartening to think that at an institution this size, there are still a number of people who are distrustful,” he said. Of campuswide morale, Emery said, “I don’t see any signs that it’s high, but that may reflect our recent history. But I sense a palpable feeling of optimism because of the new administration.”
Every Faculty Senate, it seems, has to deal with the same issues of tight budgeting and competing priorities for the state Legislature, and this year is no different But Emery said he thinks President Emmert has been effective in his dealings with the Legislature, and has helped create this “climate of optimism” at the UW.
Administration’s statement:
Oct. 20, 2005
To the Faculty of the University of Washington:
In 1956, Carl Allendoerfer, Alfred Harsch, William S. Hopkins, Brents Stirling, and E. Roscoe Wilcox, speaking for the faculty, and Henry Schmitz, President, on behalf of the administration, developed the following statement of policy in Volume Two of the University Handbook.
“A university is a community of scholars contributing, each according to his (or her) own talents and interests, to the transmission and advancement of knowledge. Because of its diversity of interests a university is a complex organization, not quite like any other in its management, which requires the understanding and good faith of people dedicated to a common purpose. A university administration must seek wisely and diligently to advance the common effort, and the strength of a university is greatest when its faculty and administration join for the advancement of common objectives. Much of the faculty-administration relationship has been established through long experience, and has the weight and good sense of academic form and tradition. But the terms of this relationship are essentially those of spirit, mutual respect, and good faith, and thus must be flexible to meet changing needs. Some of the traditions of the University of Washington are given expression in the pages that follow. Yet these and other common understandings have meaning only to the extent that they reflect the integrity and faith of administration and faculty in the day by day accomplishment of their joint effort.”
This philosophy rings as true today as it did nearly 50 years ago. With the ever growing importance of the University to the intellectual and economic well being in the State of Washington, shared governance is a critical feature for maintaining the health and vibrancy of this University.
As a sign of collective dedication to shared governance, we affix our signatures.
Mark A. Emmert, president
Phyllis M. Wise, provost and vice president for academic affairs
Patricia Spakes, chancellor, UW Tacoma
Steven G. Olswang, Interim Chancellor, UW Bothell
Ashley Emery, Faculty Senate chair
Gail Stygall, Faculty Senate vice chair
