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Remedy for Governance Problems
Art K. Huseonica
To the Editor:
Lynn Davis and Deborah Page’s article, “Governance Review Without Tears,” in the November–December issue provides the reader with an excellent example of how active faculty members can successfully restructure an existing shared faculty governance program. The necessity for change was identified because of the acute decreasing effectiveness of the faculty—a common theme throughout much of higher education as corporatization is becoming prevalent and funding resources shift. More important, as the trend in faculty hiring patterns shifts increasingly toward contingent faculty, strategies for including part-time and full-time non-tenure-track faculty members must be found.
Although a change in leadership of senior administration was deemed beneficial to the success of the restructuring, a change in shared governance leadership or renewed engagement can effect similar changes. Focused efforts at transparency throughout the conceptualization, planning, and implementation phases were certainly worthwhile. Davis and Page’s restructuring plan, when modified to fit individual institutions, can prove beneficial to keeping shared faculty governance present and strong, reinforced, or created anew.
Art K. Huseonica
(Computer Science)
University of Maryland University College
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