Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 67.27
Liaison Veronica Johnson
Submission Date Jan. 14, 2022

STARS v2.2

Southwestern University
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.50 / 3.00 Veronica Johnson
Sustainability Coordinator
Facilities Management
"---" 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:
The Student Government Association (SGA) shall be the primary student governing body. It shall: Complete the business of student government; Work closely and communicate with administration and faculty; Empower and support student leaders and initiatives; Take a proactive and forward-looking approach to identify student issues and developing
effective policy; and Promote the welfare of the student body and the University as a whole.

The Faculty Steering Committee provides a venue for faculty representatives to discuss, on an ongoing and regular basis, issues of importance to the faculty; to develop common approaches and responses to those issues; and to advise the faculty, administration, and other committees. It also acts as a representative of the faculty in meetings with the senior administration and the Board of Trustees; and, in collaboration with the President, and the Dean of the Faculty, sets the agenda for Faculty Meetings. It also recommends agenda items for other committees as well as refer faculty and academic issues to the appropriate committees. This committee collaborates with the Dean of the Faculty’s office to appoint faculty to non-elected committees as well as hold those committees accountable for their work through annual written activity reports.

The mission of the Staff Steering Committee is to give all members of the staff the opportunity for a voice and engagement in the governance of the Southwestern community. The Staff Steering Committee is a representative body of non-faculty employees that provides a forum for all staff and works to strengthen the lines of communication across the University, to discuss issues of importance to staff, to develop common approaches to them, and to advise the staff as a whole

Part 2. Campus stakeholder representation in governance

Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body:
40

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:
17

Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women:
42.50

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:
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Optional Fields 

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:
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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.