Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 67.84
Liaison Noah Upchurch
Submission Date March 1, 2024

STARS v2.2

Catawba College
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.12 / 3.00 Noah Upchurch
Senior Sustainability Specialist
Center for the Environment
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Shared governance bodies

Does the institution have formal participatory or shared governance bodies through which the following stakeholders can regularly participate in the governance of the institution?:
Yes or No
Students Yes
Academic staff Yes
Non-academic staff Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal participatory or shared governance bodies:
Catawba College includes a number of participatory governing bodies. Of these bodies, the most notable for governing and representing the various members of our campus are the Board of Trustees, Faculty Senate, and Student Government Association.

The Board of Trustees is Catawba College's highest governing body, comprised of both alumni and non-alumni members with a wide range of life experiences and skills. The Board provides strategic guidance on a number of operational issues for the College forming its path forward. The Board is comprised of a number of committees, and has oversight on the management and implementation of the College's largest strategic goals.

The Student Government Association is a representative body constructed of an executive branch and series of committees, which aims to "promote unity among the student body within the college community, to promote a quality educational environment, to protect common interests, to create an atmosphere of free discussion, inquiry, and self-expression, to insure the personal freedom and general welfare of the student body, and to instill in the student body the principles of self-government." The Student Government Association represents the needs and issues of the student body to the President and faculty as a whole. The Student Government Association is also in charge of organizing and executing the duties of the Honor Court.

The Faculty Senate is a representative body of faculty at Catawba College that is elected to reflect a balance between all professorship classifications. Senators represent the needs and issues of faculty to the President and Board of Trustees.

The Staff Council is a representative body of staff of Catawba College. Members are appointed to represent staff based on their area of employment. Council hears staff concerns and needs. The Council represents staff members to the highest administrators of the College.

Part 2. Campus stakeholder representation in governance

Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body:
29

Number of students representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
0

Number of academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
0

Number of non-academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
0

Part 3. Gender equity in governance

Number of women serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
9

Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women:
31.03

Website URL where information about the institution’s highest governing body may be found:

Part 4. Community engagement bodies

Does the institution host or support one or more formal bodies through which external stakeholders have a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them?:
No

A brief description of the campus-community council or equivalent body that gives external stakeholders a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them:
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Optional Fields 

Number of people from underrepresented groups serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body.:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Reflects Board of Trustee composition as of March 2023.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.