UMW Faculty Governance Conference Call_For

The “Faculty Governance in Higher Education Conference” at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, October 24, 2008 assumes as its foundational premise that faculty governance bodies are vital to the success of institutions of higher education. The relative vitality and effectiveness of faculty governance bodies at U.S. colleges and universities have far-reaching consequences for the educational, research, and service missions of those institutions. We welcome paper and panel proposals on all aspects of faculty governance, including, but not limited to:

• Why does faculty governance matter?

• What roles should faculty governance bodies play in:

preserving academic freedom and integrity of scholarly inquiry on our campuses?
defining, promoting, and maintaining academic excellence?
determining curricular appropriateness/relevance?
assessing quality of student life?
deliberating issues pertaining to faculty rights, responsibilities, and welfare?
determining the scope of an institution’s outreach to communities in the region?
defining and promoting education as a “public good”?

What are the “boundary issues” for which faculty governance bodies and administrative bodies share responsibility?

What relationship should faculty governance have with governing bodies (BOV, BOD, etc.)?

What relationship should faculty governance have with administrators (President, Provost, etc.)?

How are these relationships best negotiated?

What are the limits of faculty governance?
What issues should faculty governance bodies address only at their peril?
What are the most (and least) effective strategies for structuring faculty-led, deliberative bodies (senates, councils, committees, etc.)?
What actions by faculty governance bodies can render them ineffective, or irrelevant?

Submissions consisting of a title and an abstract of 250-500 words should be accompanied by a brief cover-letter noting the author’s name, affiliation, contact information, and title of paper or panel. Panel proposals should, in addition, provide a brief rationale for the proposed grouping.