Statewide CSU Academic Senate resolution reaffirms the principle of shared governance; calls on Chancellor to explain his "shared leadership" rhetoric.

The Academic Senate of the California State University (ASCSU) has passed a unanimous resolution, calling on the Chancellor to honor a commitment to shared governance and to explain what he means when referring instead to "shared leadership."



From the resolution:

“the ASCSU requests that the Chancellor clearly articulate, in the written response to this resolution, how the principle of “shared leadership” – to which he  has often referred – either conforms with, or differs from, both the HEERA statute and the ‘long-accepted manner’ of shared governance as defined in the American Association of University Professors’ (AAUP’s) ‘Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities’.”

From the rationale (emphasis in original):

"Like his predecessor in the office, the current Chancellor has demonstrated a distinctly different understanding of shared  governance from that which has characterized the principles and practice of the  ASCSU. 

"requests from campus faculty leaders for investigations by the Chancellor into the erosion of shared governance on individual campuses have been met, at  times, with tepid responses."

"In contrast to the universally accepted principle of shared governance, “shared  leadership” itself is a concept not native to academe but rather to business  settings.

"In matters related to curriculum, in particular  (though certainly not limited to curricular matters), there is growing evidence that the expertise of the faculty, and, in fact, faculty’s responsibility to preserve  quality, is being threatened, not only from without but also from within."

 ASCSU Resolution Reaffirming the Principle of Shared Governance, approved unanimously, March 3-4, 2016.