Penn’s Faculty Senate recently released a one-pager outlining its responsibilities as part of the University’s governance system.
The document, published earlier this month on the Faculty Senate website, details the role of the Senate Executive Committee and the rights of faculty members on campus. According to a report from the group’s April 15 meeting, SEC unanimously endorsed the distribution of the one-pager across the University.
History professor and Faculty Senate Chair Kathleen Brown authored the document alongside psychology professor and SEC member Anna Schapiro. In a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, Brown described the one-pager as an effort “raise faculty literacy across all twelve schools about how the faculty participate in shared governance.”
“The Faculty Senate comprises, and represents, Penn’s Standing Faculty and Standing Faculty-Clinician-Educators,” the document reads. “Shared governance is the framework through which trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, and students collaborate in the planning and direction of the University.”
SEC, the Faculty Senate’s primary operating body, represents “constituencies across all 12 schools,” responds “issues of faculty concern” and maintains communication with administrators.
The one-pager also defines SEC’s resolution-passing power, pointing specifically to the group’s response to the federal government’s higher education compact proposal and a federal subpoena seeking the names and contact information of Jewish faculty, students, and staff at Penn.
The Faculty Senate’s Oct. 15 resolution urging administrators against the White House’s compact was quickly followed by the Penn President Larry Jameson’s official rejection of the proposal.
Under the framework of shared governance, faculty can “advise, discuss, recommend, and request action from the administration” and help to select Penn’s president and provost through committees. Faculty can also participate consultative and search committees for University leadership.
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Brown previously characterized the Faculty Senate’s role in Penn’s governance structure as a mix between “advisory” and “authority” capacities.
While “there are parts of University life that are pretty squarely in the faculty lane of shared governance” — including hiring, tenure recommendations, and curriculum — Brown acknowledged at the time that “most faculty would say … they wish they were heard more” and that they were able to “have more of an impact on some of the big decisions at the University.”
According to the one-pager, standing committees of the Faculty Senate write “investigative reports,” make “policy recommendations,” and oversee matters pertinent to academics, education, and research.
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Staff reporter Cathy Sui covers federal policy and can be reached at sui@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies finance and statistics.
