Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 72.96
Liaison Audrey McSain
Submission Date Feb. 16, 2022

STARS v2.2

Lehigh University
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.50 / 3.00 Katharine Targett Gross
Sustainability Officer
Office of Sustainability
"---" 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:
1) STUDENTS
Lehigh has both a Graduate Student Senate and an Undergraduate Student Senate.

The Graduate Student Senate (GSS) is a body that was created in order to give a voice to graduate student concerns and feedback. Every graduate student enrolled at Lehigh is automatically a general member of the GSS. Students can also participate as the following: Unit Representatives, Club Representatives, Committee Representatives, and the Executive Board. The Executive Board is elected by the general members.

The function of the Undergraduate Student Senate shall be to provide an opportunity for its members to discuss and express their views upon any matter which they deem of general student interest and to make recommendations or pass resolutions with respect thereto. The Student Senate shall speak as the representative voice of the undergraduates on affairs of concern to the undergraduate community. The members of the senate are appointed and elected, but all students are welcome to attend and participate in senate meetings.`

2) NON-ACADEMIC STAFF
The Employee Relations Advisory Committee (ERAC) is a team of elected exempt and non-exempt staff members, working together to help advance the interests of our colleagues around campus. We strive to make the Lehigh community as collegial as possible, ensuring that our dedication, enthusiasm and professional experience is recognized across the university.

The Council for Equity and Community (CEC) is an independent advisory board comprised of Lehigh staff, faculty, and students committed to serving as a campus resource in the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage constructive dialogue and work toward building a stronger campus community.

ERAC is strongly committed to a proactive stance in advising the President, through the Vice President for Finance and Administration, on matters pertaining to employee relations.

3) ACADEMIC STAFF
The voting faculty members of the faculty are those with the rank of assistant professor, associate professor, or professor. Instructors with full-time academic appointments in teaching or research are also voting members of the faculty, provided that they are not candidates for a Lehigh degree. Also, included as voting faculty members are the president, provost, the deans of each the four colleges, and the vice provost for library and technology services. The university faculty is the legislative body in matters pertaining to the admission, registration, instruction, and discipline of students, and in matters related to academic procedures and educational policies.

Faculty also have avenues in participating in the multiple committees and advisory groups that exist on campus, which include elected representatives from each college such as:
faculty steering committee (1.2.2.1)
[subcommittee on rules and procedures] (1.2.2.1.1)
educational policy committee (1.2.2.2)
graduate and research committee (1.2.2.3)
faculty compensation committee (1.2.2.4)
faculty financial planning and operations committee (1.2.2.5)
faculty personnel committee (1.2.2.6)
faculty committee on student life (1.2.2.7)

Part 2. Campus stakeholder representation in governance

Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body:
28

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:
12

Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women:
42.86

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:
---

Optional Fields 

Number of people from underrepresented groups serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body.:
---

Website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Inclusive and participatory governance was not impacted by COVID-19 and therefore is representative of a normal year.

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.