Fostering more engaged senates
July 10, 2017
“Professors have long complained about faculty-senate lethargy, and they have questioned how much the governing bodies are able to accomplish,” writes J Clara Chan for the Chronicle of Higher Education. Yet with tensions rising between administrators, faculty, and students, the author notes, more professors are calling attention to the importance of strong faculty governance. One of the biggest barriers to such governance, the author adds, is the “vicious cycle” that occurs when faculty become disengaged from the senate and begin to think of it as an ineffective body. The author goes on to trace a number of paths toward fostering more engaged and effective faculty senates. Chronicle of Higher Education (Subscription Required)