Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 50.74
Liaison Catherine Lockhart
Submission Date Sept. 23, 2019

STARS v2.2

Lawrence University
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.88 / 3.00 Kelsey McCormick
Sustainability Coordinator
President's Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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:

The Lawrence University Board of Trustees are responsible for the stewardship and well-being of Lawrence University. The Board meets on campus three times per year. A student representative from LUCC and a faculty representative from the FGC act as observers at Board meetings.

The Lawrence University Community Council is Lawrence's student governing body and the highest governing body for students. Class representatives are elected by peers, four representatives for each class (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior). The President of LUCC serves in an observer role on the Lawrence University Board of Trustees and attends board meetings.

The Staff Connections committee is a representative body of all staff. Staff members may reach out to any member of the staff connections committee to voice concerns or share ideas. The staff connections committee hosts 4 all-staff meetings per year to share university news and to host question and answer sessions with senior leadership.

The Faculty Governance Committee is the university governing body that represents the faculty and is the highest governing body for faculty. A new chair of the Faculty Governance Committee is assigned by the president each year. The chair of the faculty governance committee also serves in an observer role on the Lawrence University Board of Trustees and attends board meetings.


Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body:
36

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

Number of women serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
12

Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women:
33.33

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

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

The President's Advisory Committee on Public Affairs serves in an advisory role to the president as well as the Board of Trustees regarding local opinions and affairs. The group mainly consists of local Trustees, local members of the President's Advisory Council and members of the local/regional community at large, including representatives from local government, the private sector and the civic sector.


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:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Lawrence's highest governing body is the Lawrence University Board of Trustees. Though the trustees are the only individuals with voting rights within that body, the president of the Lawrence University Community Council, the Lawrence University Alumni Association, the Faculty Governance Committee all sit as observers of the Board. These individuals prepare reports that the trustees read in preparation for their on-campus meetings, often prepare presentations or provide updates on campus issues that are taken into great consideration by the Board. Though they are not official members of the Board these observer positions are of great value.


Lawrence's highest governing body is the Lawrence University Board of Trustees. Though the trustees are the only individuals with voting rights within that body, the president of the Lawrence University Community Council, the Lawrence University Alumni Association, the Faculty Governance Committee all sit as observers of the Board. These individuals prepare reports that the trustees read in preparation for their on-campus meetings, often prepare presentations or provide updates on campus issues that are taken into great consideration by the Board. Though they are not official members of the Board these observer positions are of great value.

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.