Cal Poly Humboldt
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

There are many methods through which the above stakeholders participate in shared governance and decisions of the institution.
1. Associated Students is a non-profit 501(c)(3) auxiliary organization. It is governed by a Board of Directors composed of Cal Poly Humboldt students. This group actively advocates for institutional changes that serve to enhance the student environment, allocates student fee dollars to student initiated and led programs and services, and educates the campus community on current affairs that have significant impact to students. They fund and administer student initiated and student led programs and services. Students self-nominate and then are voted into membership by their peers for executive positions, or are designated by executive leadership to serve in committee roles throughout campus. This is the primary body through which governance decisions for and about students are made, and is the group through which student representation is designated for many other boards, committees, and governance structures at Cal Poly Humboldt. Read more at https://associatedstudents.humboldt.edu/what-is-associated-students
2. Staff Council is a recognized body within shared governance on the Cal Poly Humboldt campus that provides input and advice on staff matters and perspectives not covered by collective bargaining. This group endeavors to enhance the recognition and worth of each staff member through its community service efforts, create a positive impact on staff culture and morale, seek out and respond to ideas and suggestions, and help to represent staff to the University administration. Staff members are nominated and then voted into membership by their peers. This is one body through which non-academic staff may engage in discussion about decisions that affect them, and is the group through which staff representation is designated for many other boards, committees, and governance structures at Cal Poly Humboldt. Read more at https://staffcouncil.humboldt.edu/
3. General Faculty is an organization that intends “to assure that the collective knowledge, experience, and judgment possessed by the members shall be as fully utilized as possible in providing students with educational opportunities, in developing university policies and procedures, and in fostering a spirit of unity and cooperation among its members” (Constitution of the General Faculty, Section 1.2, http://senate.humboldt.edu/sites/default/files/appendixj-revised_june2016_0.pdf). Membership consists of full time members of the university faculty who hold rank of assistant professor or above, full time librarians, full time coaches, full time counselors, lecturers, librarians, coaches and counselors holding at least a 1-year appointment with time base averaging .4 of full time, FERP faculty, and professors emeriti. The General Faculty exercises its responsibilities to formulate, review, and recommend academic policies for the university to the President and other appropriate agents through its elected delegates to the University Senate. This is the group through which faculty representation is designated for many other boards, committees, and governance structures at Cal Poly Humboldt. Read more at http://senate.humboldt.edu/faculty
4. The CA Faculty Association is the exclusive collective bargaining representative for the CA State University faculty, including tenure-track faculty, lecturers, librarians, counselors, and coaches. According to CFA Bylaws, the CFA is established to strengthen the cause of higher education for the public good; to promote and maintain the standards and ideals of the profession; to provide a democratic voice for employees in higher education; to provide legislative advocacy; and to maintain collective bargaining agreements covering salaries, working conditions, and other items and conditions of employment. Read more at https://www.calfac.org/
5. Collective Bargaining Units represent CSU employees in labor relations and negotiate with the employer regarding the scope of the employment relationship which sometimes relates to governance matters. Current bargaining agreements for the CSU are organized as follows: Unit 1 Union of American Physicians and Dentists; Units 2, 5, 7, and 9 CSU Employees Union; Unit 3, CA Faculty Association, Unit 4 Academic Professionals of CA, Unit 6 Teamsters Local 2010, Unit 8 Statewide University Police Association, Unit 10 International Union of Operating Engineers, Unit 11 Academic Student Employees, Unit 13 CSUEU English Language Program Instructors Cal State LA, and Unit 14 CSUEU English Language Program Instructors, CSU Monterey Bay. Employees are elected to leadership positions within each bargaining unit. Read more at https://www2.calstate.edu/csu-system/faculty-staff/labor-and-employee-relations
6. The University Senate of Humboldt State University is the primary organization of shared governance on the campus and the highest governing body at the campus level. In Academic Year 2011-2012 the Academic Senate transitioned to a University Senate, based on San Diego State’s model (most CSU’s have Academic Senates with more restricted memberships; each campus determines the scope of its Senate’s policymaking authority). Perhaps due to our relatively small size in the CSU and our history of attracting long-term faculty and staff members invested in the health and future of what they see as a very special university, the Senate plays an important role in policy-making and in collective conversations about the values, mission, and priorities of the campus. The Senate meets every other Tuesday 3-5pm during the academic year (there are 7 regular meetings scheduled per semester). The University Senate’s membership includes tenure-track faculty representatives from each of the colleges (CAHSS, CNRS, CPS) and the Library, at-large faculty representatives, lecturer faculty representatives, faculty representatives from the Academic Senate of the CSU (the statewide Senate on which faculty from each campus serve), an emeritus faculty member, non-MPP staff representatives, administration (MPP) representatives, such as the Provost and the vice president of Administrative Affairs, and student representatives appointed by Associated Students. In addition, there are seats for a staff labor union representative and a faculty labor union representative, and a seat for the Executive Director of Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The University President serves as a non-voting member. Read more at https://senate.humboldt.edu/
7. The CSU Board of Trustees is a 25-member governance board that adopts regulations and policies governing the entire CSU system. This group governs the CSU system as a whole and is the highest governing board for the system, but does not routinely have representative members from Humboldt State University specifically. Board committees have authority over educational policy, finance, campus planning, and facilities, among other areas. Membership of the board of trustees is comprised of 5 ex-officio trustees (including the governor of CA, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the assembly, the state superintendent of public instruction, and the CSU chancellor), and 19 trustees who are generally appointed by the Governor. Of the 19 governor-appointed trustees, two are students, one is an alumni from the CSU Statewide Alumni Council, one is faculty from the Statewide Academic Senate, and the others represent diverse stakeholder groups from across the state. Read more at https://www2.calstate.edu/csu-system/board-of-trustees/Pages/default.aspx

While the campus does not host one particular "Town & Gown Committee" that allows any and all community stakeholders to provide input on any open-ended campus matter, there are a number of targeted advisory boards that community members sit on to regularly and routinely provide input on specific topics and decisions. These are comprised of local and regional community stakeholders with the intent that each would serve to give a mechanism for campus to receive, consider, incorporate stakeholder input before making major decisions that will affect local and regional community members. In addition, members of the community, city, county, and other regional planning groups were heavily involved in working groups to develop our Strategic Plan 2021-2026.

These targeted councils and Committees include:
o Joint Native American Advisory Council: The purpose of the Native American Advisory Council (NAAC) as re-established by former President Rossbacher was to foster a tribal government-to-university relationship providing the Cal Poly Humboldt president and leadership with a vital connection to the Native American communities. Cal Poly Humboldt President Tom Jackson, Jr., along with CR President Keith Flamer, are building on this work, prioritizing the development of leader-to-leader relationships through one-on-one meetings and visits to Tribal headquarters, attendance as invited guests at Tribal events, hosting an early Tribal leadership summit at campus (2019), attending specific Northcoast Tribal Leaders Association meetings, and hosting an annual spring campus meeting. This leader-to-leader relationship is an expression of President Jackson and President Flamer’s respect for the sovereignty of tribal nations and their desire to listen to and speak directly with elected leaders. Based on insights from Tribal leaders and others about the higher education trajectories of and persistent structural challenges impacting local Native students, the new joint NAAC will serve as a external advisory group of Tribal leaders for the Presidents of the College of the Redwoods and Cal Poly Humboldt. https://president.humboldt.edu/joint-native-american-advisory-council
o The Equity Alliance of the North Coast: Humboldt County prides itself on being a very connected and welcoming community. The truth is that many people of color in Humboldt communities feel unsafe, unwelcome and experience discrimination -- in short, their experiences are not equitable to those of people who identify as white. Most of us don’t want that to be true. However, we can’t change this unless we understand how these differences manifest individually, institutionally and collectively, and address racial inequities across organizations and at every level of society. That’s why we have taken on a multi-year initiative to do just that: The Equity Alliance of the North Coast. Read more at https://www.hafoundation.org/Initiatives/Equity-Alliance-of-the-North-Coast
• A collection of two foundations at Cal Poly Humboldt provide another structure through which a variety of stakeholders lend their voices to governance and decision-making at the campus. These include:
1. The University Advancement Foundation exists to support and advance the mission of Cal Poly Humboldt by securing private support, developing and managing entrepreneurial activities, overseeing philanthropic activities, and managing endowed and other assets as requested by the University. This group is governed by a 14 member board, many of whom are business leaders and campus alumni; all have a strong tie to Humboldt State University and to the Humboldt area in some way. Read more at https://giving.humboldt.edu/about-foundation/board
2. The Sponsored Programs Foundation is a non-profit corporation formed to advance the welfare of Cal Poly Humboldt through the development, encouragement, and management of sponsored programs and other special campus programs and their related trusts. This group essentially manages grant funding that comes in to various stakeholders of the campus. The group is governed by a Board of Directors that is comprised of ex-officio campus administrators, elected faculty directors, student representation, and two community directors as appointed by the University President. Read more at https://research.humboldt.edu/board/governance
• Humboldt Advisory Committee on Sustainability: The Humboldt Advisory Committee on Sustainability is charged with advising the Provost and the VP of Administration & Finance on specific, recommended actions the campus can take to further the implementation of sustainability into the core focus areas of campus operations, academics, infrastructure and engagement. The Committee holds a seat for one member of the community to vote and contribute to discussions and decisions. https://facilitymgmt.humboldt.edu/sustainability-hsu-advisory-committee-sustainability
• Last, it is common for staff and faculty to sit on governance boards and advisory committees for local, regional and state NGO, non-profit organizations, and public agencies. This crossover relationship between campus stakeholders and other community groups means that the interests of external stakeholders are often organically represented in governance, planning, and policy discussions.

Data regarding the number of individuals on the institution's highest governing body represents demographics from the CSU Board of Trustees and was gathered by Michelle Kiss, MPA who serves as the Board of Trustee Secretariat at the CSU Office of the Chancellor in 2020. This information was forwarded for this credit by Chancellor Office Staff and should be requested on an as needed basis as it does typically live in a public place that may be easily accessed.

From https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/board-of-trustees/Pages/about-the-bot.aspx:
Currently, California law requires 25 trustees for the California State University, all of whom are full voting members. There are five ex officio members: the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Chancellor. Sixteen trustees are appointed by the governor, confirmed by the State Senate, and serve eight-year terms. Trustees confirmed by the Senate remain on the Board until a replacement is named or 60 days after their term expires whichever comes first.

Additionally, the CSU Alumni Council appoints an alumni trustee, while the governor appoints a faculty trustee from nominees proposed by the Academic Senate of the California State University. The alumni and faculty trustees serve for two years. The governor also appoints two student trustees from nominees proposed by the California State Student Association. Student trustees serve staggered two-year terms. Terms for alumni and student trustees expire at the end of their term. The faculty trustee remains on the Board until a replacement is named or one year after their term expires, whichever comes first.

At the campus level, University Senate is the highest governing board but no demographic info on this group has been included here. http://senate.humboldt.edu/