Hobart and William Smith Colleges
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

The William Smith Congress (WSC) and the Hobart Student Government (HSG) are the voice for the student body. WSC and HSG act as liaisons between students and the administration, provide funding for student organizations, and represent students on committees across the campus. Students are elected by their peers to serve on these two representative bodies, as well as junior trustees on the Board of Trustees. William Smith Congress and Hobart Student Government meet weekly.

The Administrative Advisory Committee has a mission to provide a forum for discussion of policy; to develop and communicate recommendations to Senior Staff, the President and the Trustees; and to facilitate communication among administrative staff, and between administrative staff and other members of the Colleges community.
https://www.hws.edu/offices/pdf/aac_bylaws.pdf

Staff members are a key part of governance at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and take part in many decision-making processes. The co-chair of our Climate Task Force is Carolee White, vice president for finance. Monthly, Rob Flowers, vice president for campus life, holds a meeting with all the directors in Campus Life to engage in conversations and get staff input regarding decisions that Hobart and William Smith Colleges are considering. This includes adding additional residence halls, revamping our college store, and renovations to create a new student center. Each semester, associate vice president for campus safety, Marty Corbett, meets with staff members from Campus Life, Res Ed, Athletics, and our facilities department to plan and update our parking policies, move in / out procedure for students, and student discipline hearing.

All faculty, adjunct to full professors, have the right/ability to participate and vote in Faculty Meetings where major policies and Bylaw (faculty governance) decisions are made. Elections for membership on major committees, as the Presiding Officer of the Faculty, and as the Secretary of the Faculty, are made formally through the Faculty Meetings. All faculty who are “regularly appointed in tenure-track and ongoing positions are eligible for service as officers of the faculty.” The Parliamentarian is the only officer of the faculty appointed by a committee and, while the Ombudspersons (also officers of the faculty) are elected through Faculty Meetings, only tenured faculty can hold that position.

While no teaching or research faculty sit on the HWS Board of Trustees, there are five major faculty governance committees that do meet with the Board of Trustees regularly during Board meetings. Those five major committees are (1) the Committee on the Faculty—CoFac, (2) the Committee on Academic Affairs—CoAA, (3) Committee on Tenure and Promotion—CoTaP, (4) Committee on Standards (CoS), and (5) the Committee on Committees (CoC).

There is also faculty representation on many of the Board of Trustees committees, including: financial affairs, compensation, honors, and academic affairs.