Central Michigan University
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

In the Student Government Association (SGA), students have the opportunity to represent their departmental colleges. Within SGA, the academic senate is the highest shared governing body on campus. As described in their website: “The Academic Senate has enjoyed a 50-year history as the University’s primary policy-making body for a wide range of issues involving academic life at CMU. The Senate has a long tradition of productive and open debate, and is committed to enhancing the academic experiences of students and faculty. The Senate is the final academic curricular authority for graduate and undergraduate programs, both on and off campus at CMU. As a shared decision-making body, the Senate’s membership consists of representatives elected by each academic department, six fixed-term faculty elected by each of the academic colleges, six student representatives chosen by the Student Government Association, the Deans, the Chief Diversity Officer, the Provost, and the President. Academic Senate meetings are open to the public and are held bi-weekly." The Strategic Envisioning Advisory Team is a council made up of both academic and non-academic staff. This group is one of two Purposeful Constituent Groups that will provide input and insight throughout the planning process. As described in their website, "This group consists of 2-4 members from each of the five strategic pathway groups and will serve as a sounding board for ideas and feedback throughout the process. Engagement with this group will strengthen the university-wide understanding of linkages between the work of the pathway groups and SMART goals developed during the strategic planning process as well as help in building consensus along the way, so the plan is fully embraced by the university community upon its completion." The Strategic Planning Executive Committee is made up of Non-academic staff and provides leadership and guidance throughout the strategic planning process. The SPEC will be chaired by two trustees and consist of nine total members. The committee will be the primary communicator to the university community regarding updates throughout the process. They help to advise the Strategic Planning Team which is the primary group charged with information gathering, stakeholder engagement, synthesizing all relevant information and input collected throughout the process, providing alternatives for inclusion in periodic updates to the Board, and drafting all iterations of the plan for feedback from the Strategic Planning Executive Committee and the Board.

Revised 6/17/24 to add justification: CMU has city-campus liaisons. Both the Mayor of Mount Pleasant, Michigan, and CMU officials meet quarterly or more to discuss shared goals, and the City's Planning Director meets with facilities management staff at CMU to represent city interests. City of Mt. Pleasant publci safety meets quarterly with their on-campus counterparts as well. The ongoing Mission Street Redevelopment Plan has CMU respresentatives working with City staff, the business community, elected, and appointed officials to make the main gateway to campus more walkable and bikeable, and safer for commuting in cars. These community participation meetings convene quarterly at minimum. City stakeholders are also invited to provide feedback at major events such as 2002-2023 strategic planning and 2024 presidential search.

Part 1 https://www.cmich.edu/offices-departments/academic-senate https://www.cmich.edu/about/university-mission-vision-values/strategic-planning/strategic-envisioning-advisory-team https://www.cmich.edu/about/university-mission-vision-values/strategic-planning/strategic-planning-executive-committee