Rutgers
University Senate
University Structure and
Governance Committee
Report on Faculty and Student
Board of Governors Membership
This report responds to the following charge:
Charge S-0401: Student and
Faculty Board Membership. Investigate why there is no student
voting representative on the Board of Governors in the spirit of
N.J.S.A.18A:64-3.1, which states that the Board of Trustees of every
state college must provide for the election of two student
representatives who serve two-year terms and are voting members in
their second year, considering that at Rutgers the Board of Governors
is currently equivalent to the board of trustees at most New Jersey
colleges. Report back as to why this is not the case, and make
appropriate recommendations as to if and how this issue should be
pursued. Investigate the same issues relative to faculty
membership on the Board of Governors. Respond to Senate Executive
Committee by December 2004.
Background: Student
representatives of the Senate asked the committee to look into the
matter of student representation at the end of last year and the
committee promised to complete this task by December 2004.
Students desire to have voting representatives on the Board of
Governors because of the close connection between the decisions
of the University's highest governing body and their educational goals
and concerns. Because of work on the revision of the Senate's Bylaws
and Handbook, there was some delay. Members of the
Executive Committee decided to broaden the charge to include an
examination of faculty representation. The committee looked
only into student representation during the 2004-2005 Senate session,
and recommended to the Executive Committee that the charge dealing with
faculty representation be referred to the new committee for next year.
Findings: The committee
conducted a review in the fall of 2004 of student representatives on
public University governing bodies based on the documentation that was
available at that time. Indeed, a significant number of public
University systems have comparable voting student representation on
their highest governing bodies. We identified 22 public
University systems with student representation. Many states also have
student representatives on their state-level commissions of higher
education. The student members on Boards of Governors or Regents
tend to be voting student members. They are typically appointed
by the Governor, although, at times., there is a role for student body
presidents in the appointment. The importance of such
representation is already widely recognized in New Jersey.
N.J.S.A.18A:64-3.1, states that the Board of Trustees of every state
college must provide for the election of two student representatives
who serve two-year terms and are voting members in their second year.
year Indeed, the Board of Trustees of Rutgers, the State
University, recognized the need to update its own structure in 1991 by
stipulating that 3 of the 28 Charter seats on the Board of Trustees
would be granted by the Board itself to students with full voting
rights. The board seats for the Charter trustees are
mandated by “Rutgers - the state University law” of 1956
(19A:65-14d) The Board of Trustees currently has three student
Charter trustees with full voting rights. Two trustees are also elected
by the University Senate as nonvoting representatives. The
committee finds that the representation of Rutgers students with
voting membership on the highest governing body of the
University, the Board of Governors, would be reasonable based
on their concern for the quality of the educational opportunities
offered by the University and the fact that - in coordination with its
research and public service role -- the entire University exists for
the edification and benefit of the students. The opportunities
for representation for Rutgers students should be in line with national
standards at other public Universities and with state standards at
other institutions of higher education. Representation on the
Board of Governors is consistent with the already-existing recognition
of the importance of such representation by the Rutgers University
Board of Trustees.
Analysis. We have currently identified just three avenues through
which the addition of a voting student member to the Board of
Governors could be implemented. Each of these has its advantages and
disadvantages and there may be other avenues that can be
identified. The three avenues are: First, the Governor could
appoint a student to one of six Board of Governors seats reserved for
appointments by the Governor. It is not in the purview of the
University Senate to advise the Governor on these appointees although
we would not be opposed if it were to take place. Second,
the 1956 law governing Rutgers could be amended to allow for voting
student representation on the Board of Governors. Since the Board
of Governors has a delicate and complex balancing of its eleven members
between 6 seats appointed by the Governor and 5 seats appointed by the
Board of Trustees, this would require more than the simple addition of
a student voting seat. It would take place as part of any
future comprehensive discussion of that law. There are many
aspects of the 1956 law that enhance and protect the University's
ability to accomplish its mission of higher education and we are not
advising amendment of the 1956 law at this time. Third, the 1956
law currently stipulates that five of the eleven members of the Rutgers
Board of Governors “ shall be appointed by the board of trustees from
among their members.” Since the Board of Trustees has three
student Charter trustees who are its members, it is possible that the
Board of Trustees could appoint one of the three student Charter
trustees as a member of the Board of Governors. This would
require no amendment to the 1956 law. Because the term for
members of the Board of Governors is set at 6 years, such action, if
possible, would require some examination by the Board of Trustees in
order to determine how it would be carried out in practice.
Recommendation: The Senate makes the following recommendations to
the President and through the President to the Board of Governors
under its advisory authority according to University Regulation 2.2.2
B:
1. In principle, the Senate endorses a voting student
representative on the Board of Governors.
2. The Senate recommends that the President and the
Board of Governors explore mechanisms for accomplishing the addition of
a voting student representative to the Board of Governors and work with
the Senate towards accomplishing that end.
Passed unanimously by the Senate's University Structure and Governance
Committee, March 30, 2005