Ad Hoc Shared
Governance Task Force
Draft Mission Statement
March 2010
Purpose: This
task force is being formed to examine the status of shared governance at Rutgers and at comparable institutions. In keeping with
the goals and mission of a major research university, Rutgers’
shared governance bodies and processes should parallel the desire for
excellence which should be the goals of all academic and administrative units
at The State University of New Jersey.
Specifically, the Ad Hoc Shared Governance Task Force should
explore:
- Efficacy
of shared governance bodies at Rutgers
- How
comparable universities structure their shared governance systems, and
which of those systems work best and may be identified as benchmarks
- Interactions
between all governance components at Rutgers,
including:
- University
Senate and its constituencies
- Faculty
Councils or comparable groups
- Boards
of Governors and Trustees
- President
and central administration
- Student
governing associations
- How
negative stereotypes about the University Senate have emerged, and how
they can be reversed
- Visibility
and authority of the Senate and other groups
- Ways
in which responsible expertise and members can be recruited and engaged in
the Senate
Membership: Task
force membership should be drawn from, and be representative of deliberative
governance groups (with a majority of the members being experienced University
Senators, and, in particular, Executive Committee members), as well as those
faculty whose areas of expertise include higher education structure and
administration, organizational communication or shared governance.
Timeline: The
task force is expected to meet regularly throughout the year following its
establishment, and report findings and conclusions near the end of the 2010-11
academic year.