Principia College
PA-3: Governance

Students participate in democratic processes at all levels. For example, they elect a Student Senate (all campus), House Boards (residence halls), and Club officers (e.g., Sustainability Club) that promote and guide their peers in extra- and co-curricular activities. The participate in the Office of Student Life as, inter alia, Resident Assistants, event coordinators, and mediators and they have access to governance bodies at all levels (one of the many blessings of being a very small college).

There is no direct student representation on the Board of Trustees. That said, the President and Deans routinely update the Trustees on issues affecting the student body, including academic issues, current events, achievements, and grievances.

Such participation takes place in a wide variety of ways, including: input into the 2013-14 strategic planning exercise; ad hoc student committees/surveys to advise the Dean of Students (or Academics) on issues related to student life, campus judicial processes, the daily schedule, invited speakers, learning outcomes, etc.; input into staffing (e.g., faculty hires: hosting a candidate lunch, evaluating a candidate lecture) and physical resources (e.g., furnishings, athletic equipment, IT upgrades); student-led communications (e.g., Pilot, PrinRadio, online blogs and YouTube videos, recruiting, donor outreach); and routine input (especially through the Sustainability Club and students pursuing a degree in Sustainability) in the allocation of the Center's resources, classes taught, projects undertaken, and program priorities.

All staff, regardless of rank, participate (weekly) in a Staff Senate with peer-elected officers. Formal privileges associated with harassment, misconduct, grievance, performance and appeal processes are published in the Employee Handbook. Heads of Departments participate in a monthly College Leadership Team (chaired by the College President/CEO). It is a formal policy of The Principia that "In all Departments of its work, both curricular and extracurricular, The Principia shall place emphasis upon devotion to the democratic way of life and upon dedication of the individual to its service. Emphasis shall be laid upon the priceless privileges of the democratic way of life expressed in: freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of religious worship, and freedom of the press."

There is no direct non-supervisory staff representation on the Board of Trustees. That said, the President and Deans routinely update the Trustees on issues affecting the staff, including workplace issues, current events, achievements, and grievances.

Staff in all departments (e.g., Library, Advising, Facilities, Finance, Dining) had a direct role in the development of the most recent Strategic Plan (http://www.principia.edu/strategicplan). They initiate, steward and implement key academic and operational programming, manage their budgets and prioritize their resources, vet and evaluate their employees, and collaborate with Marketing and Communications in newsletters, online resources, and other outreach.

All ranked faculty participate (weekly) in a Faculty Senate with peer-elected officers. Formal privileges associated with harassment, misconduct, grievance, performance and appeal processes are published in the Employee Handbook. The Faculty Leadership Team (FLT), co-chaired by the Faculty Senate President and the College President, is comprised of the Deans of Academics, Academic Unit Heads (peer-elected), and Faculty Council (see below) "To be an advisory group for the administration; To represent the faculty in curricular/program decisions, structure, and procedures; To represent the faculty in faculty welfare issues and concerns; and To engage in dialogues regarding the academic strategic plan and the vision of Principia College." Faculty Council (Chair: Faculty Senate President) is comprised of one representative from each of the college's four academic units, one member-at-large, and one athletic faculty and meets weekly "To promote faculty welfare, to be faculty leaders and represent the faculty voice on the Faculty Leadership Team, to monitor/maintain/manage the six primary responsibilities set forth in the Faculty Constitution; to build relationships with other stakeholders in the community; to increase communication between/within the faculty, administration, staff, and students." It is a formal policy of The Principia that "In all Departments of its work, both curricular and extracurricular, The Principia shall place emphasis upon devotion to the democratic way of life and upon dedication of the individual to its service. Emphasis shall be laid upon the priceless privileges of the democratic way of life expressed in: freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of religious worship, and freedom of the press."

There is no direct/elected faculty representation to the Board of Trustees, but an active College Leadership Team meets monthly (chaired by the College President/CEO) and is comprised of operational and academic Department heads, including faculty representation through the Dean's office and direct participation by the Director of the Center for Sustainability, who is also ranked faculty. The Faculty Leadership Team and Faculty Council are peer-elected and democratic in their processes (described earlier), and each provides communication access to the governing body through elected leadership and/or the College President.

Faculty in all academic departments had a direct role in the development of the most recent Strategic Plan (http://www.principia.edu/strategicplan). Faculty (either elected or self-selected) are represented on all academic committees. They initiate, steward and implement academic programming, manage Departmental budgets and other resources, vet and evaluate faculty hires, and collaborate with Marketing and Communications in newsletters, online resources, and other outreach.