Release date: 6/20/07
For more information, contact: Robin Burns
Washington, D.C. — The American Association of University Professors honored Dr. Carolyn R. Mahoney, president of Lincoln University of Missouri, at its Ninety-second Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, June 9. President Mahoney was presented with the AAUP’s Ralph S. Brown Award for Shared Governance.
The award is given to American college or university administrators or trustees “in recognition of an outstanding contribution to shared governance.” It was established in 1998 in memory of Ralph S. Brown, who served as AAUP president and general counsel and headed many AAUP committees during his forty-four years of service to the Association. The selection committee consists of the president of the Association, the general secretary, and the current chair and a former chair of the AAUP’s Committee on College and University Governance. Criteria for the award include demonstration of a strong commitment to shared governance; the ability to work with faculty and staff to bring about effective change; and the capacity to communicate to multiple constituencies about the importance of shared governance.
Shared governance, which is the cooperative and consultative process for academic decision making on college and university campuses, is highly valued by the academic community. In its widely respected 1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities, the AAUP notes that “the variety and complexity of the tasks performed by institutions of higher education produce an inescapable interdependence among governing board, administration, faculty, students, and others.”
In presenting the award on behalf of the selection committee, Professor Gregory Scholtz, chair of the AAUP’s governance committee, spoke of the “eloquent letters sent by Lincoln faculty and staff, who expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the steps that President Mahoney has taken to involve them in joint decision-making--and particularly in restoring equity to faculty and staff compensation, improving internal communications, and revising university regulations.” During her tenure as president, the university has made significant progress in all these areas, and faculty morale has reached new heights. Scholtz noted also that, while praising the president's governance accomplishments, faculty and staff expressed an even greater appreciation and regard for President Mahoney herself. In the words of one nominator: “As I thought of what to say about Dr. Mahoney's impact on this campus that would illustrate the extent to which she has changed our campus culture, I realized that in its most basic form, shared governance is simply a reflection of good character and the qualities that allow us to trust each other, to treat each other with courtesy and respect, and to share in the responsibility of making our institution better for all its constituents. It is who Dr. Mahoney is that has changed us.” Another faculty member observed, “Some presidents talk about shared governance; this president exemplifies it.”
Lincoln University was founded in 1866 by two African-American Civil War infantry units interested in continuing their education. According to the university’s Web site, “Today, Lincoln University serves a diverse clientele, both residential and non-residential, engages in a variety of research projects, and offers numerous public service programs in addition to providing an array of academic programs.”
For more information on this award or about shared governance, please visit the AAUP’s Web site or contact Robert Kreiser, 202-737-5900, ext. 3026.
The American Association of University Professors is a nonprofit charitable and educational organization that promotes academic freedom by supporting tenure, academic due process, shared governance and standards of quality in higher education. The AAUP has about 45,000 members at colleges and universities throughout the United States.