Workshop on Shared Governance

February 1st, 2019

On February 1st, 2019, the local presented a Workshop on Shared Governance, featuring Dr. Sandra Daack-Hirsch and Dr. Katherine Tachau at the University at Iowa.

Unlike some organizations (e.g., those in the private sector), universities have long cherished collaboration and joint decision-making among governing boards, administrators, faculty, staff, and students.  Much research shows that when the shared governance climate is good, universities function well, have high morale, and members of all stakeholder groups feel meaningfully involved and mutually valued.  When the shared governance climate is poor, universities function sub-optimally and tend to be characterized by lack of transparency, tension, and low morale and organizational commitment.

The purposes of the workshop were to: 1) learn about a remarkable transformation in shared governance climate at the University of Iowa, where a very poor climate (which led to the university being sanctioned by the American Association of University Professors for violating faculty rights to shared governance) was transformed to what some have called the “best shared governance climate in decades”; 2) learn about best practices in shared governance, from the perspectives of governing boards, administrators, and faculty advocacy associations; 3) to explore our current shared governance environment at Boise State; and 4) to vision and plan for the best possible shared governance climate on our campus.

For the slideshows from the workshop, click a button: