Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.15
Liaison Sara McIntyre
Submission Date Dec. 20, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Sewanee - The University of the South
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.75 / 3.00 Amy Turner
Director of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability
Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1

Do the institution’s students have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a student council)? :
Yes

Do the institution’s students have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body?:
Yes

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which students are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
The students have representation in a Student Government Association (SGA). The Student Body has representation in the Board of Trustees by two students. There are two from the College of Arts and Sciences who are elected by the Board of Trustees upon nomination by the student bodies, to serve for a two-year term that commences at the adjournment of the Annual Meeting of the Board of Trustees at which the election occurs. A candidate for nomination from the College must have attained a 2.50-grade point average for two semesters prior to nomination and must have completed fifty-seven semester hours.

Do the institution’s staff members have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a staff council)?:
Yes

Do the institution’s non-supervisory staff members have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body?:
Yes

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which staff are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
Sewanee staff members have a representation in university governance through the Employee Advisory Committee, which is in charge of organizing regular staff meetings and assessing staff satisfaction surveys. Furthermore, the staff has representation in the Board of Trustees. One full-time, exempt employee is nominated by the staff group, and one fulltime, a non-exempt employee is nominated by the staff group. Each nominee is elected by the Board of Trustees for a three-year term.

Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a faculty senate)?:
Yes

Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body? :
Yes

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which teaching and research faculty are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
There is a faculty senate that is a voting body that votes on University policies and curriculum. On the highest governing body 2 faculty members are elected to the Board of Trustees. These faculty members are 2 of 146 Trustees and have voting power.

Part 2

Does the institution have written policies and procedures to identify and engage external stakeholders (i.e. local residents) in land use planning, capital investment projects, and other institutional decisions that affect the community?:
Yes

A copy of the written policies and procedures:
sca-bylawswithappendix2.pdf

The policies and procedures:
Sewanee, TN is an unincorporated town that is largely owned by the university. The businesses and homes are largely privately held, but the land beneath them is held by the university. To engage stakeholders in the university decision making process, the Sewanee Civic Association was created to engage a dialogue and ownership in the process, growth and development of the town and the university.

Does the institution have formal participatory or shared governance bodies through which community members representing the interests of the following stakeholder groups can regularly participate in institutional governance?:
Yes or No
Local government and/or educational organizations No
Private sector organizations Yes
Civil society (e.g. NGOs, NPOs) Yes

If yes to one or more of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which external stakeholders are engaged in institutional governance (including information about each stakeholder group selected above):
Reverend Dr. Nancee Lea Martin of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Spring Hill, Florida represents civil society on Sewanee's Board of Reagents (as well as 5 other priests) and Ms. Margaret McLarty, SVP Wells Fargo Advisors, represents Private Sector Orgs (along with 10 other private sector representatives).

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.