Stanford University
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Students serve on over 50 University Committees, including five committees of Stanford's Board of Trustees. These include the Board of Trustees Committee on Alumni and External Affairs, the Board of Trustees Committee on Development, the Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, the Board of Trustees Committee on Land and Buildings, and the Board of Trustees Committee on Globalization. Information on these committees is available here: http://www.stanfordnomcom.com/committees/

The Nominations Commission (NomCom), which is a branch of the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) and is composed of 7 students from the undergraduate and graduate populations, is responsible for nominating students as voting members to university committees, Stanford Board of Trustee committees, and the Stanford Student Enterprises board of directors. NomCom has a direct impact on issues across the university through the students they nominate to committees. The term for the 7 NomCom members begins at the start of winter quarter and runs through the end of the next fall quarter. http://www.stanfordnomcom.com/about/

The Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) is over 110 years old and is the only organization at Stanford of which every student is automatically a member. The ASSU provides funding to over 500 volunteer student organizations (VSO). These organizations in turn provide the majority of cultural, political, recreational and religious programming for the entire campus. The financial independence that the ASSU affords student organizations is one of the founding principles of the organization.

The ASSU also works to represent the interests, needs and perspectives of Stanford students at every level of decision making within the university. They advocate on behalf of Stanford students on issues such as the cost of living, diversity, student life and student activities. Each year the ASSU strives to innovate new projects and create new services that will improve the quality of student life at Stanford.

The ASSU is represented by two legislative bodies (the Undergraduate Senate (http://assu.stanford.edu/senate-business/) and the Graduate Student Council (http://gsc.stanford.edu/), an Executive branch (http://assu.stanford.edu/executive-initiatives/), an Enterprise Component (http://sse.stanford.edu/), and many other bodies. Each body handles a respective function but with significant overlaps. Loosely:
• The legislative branch facilitates the operation of student groups, managing the funding process for almost any event on campus
• The executive branch holds the improvement of student life and welfare as paramount, through self-initiated programming and support of individual student endeavors
• Stanford Student Enterprises ensures the long-term financial viability and independence of the Association and facilitates numerous student jobs and organizational reimbursements

The University Management Group (UMG) is comprised of all administrative deans at the university and is charged with making decisions regarding the university's business processes.All staff members at Stanford are encouraged to participate in the Team for Improving Productivity at Stanford (TIPS), which reports to the University Management Group. At the least, administrative deans from 27 departments on campus are required to appoint staff members to this team, which is an open forum that:

1) Serves as a catalyst for communicating information to all staff.
2) Collaborates, raises awareness, influences and provides advice to enhance productivity across campus.
3) Supports successful and effective development and implementation of business processes.
4) Provides opportunities for leadership development to all Stanford staff.

The objectives of the TIPS group are to:

1) Provide a forum for staff who seek information and advice about Stanford programs and services.
2) Provide an opportunity for open discussion and the exchange of ideas about topics of interest.
3) Stay current and be informed about business operations and communicate information to and from business process owners and end users.
4) Provide a voice for user-level input and constructive feedback through identification, development, and implementation of University business processes.
5) Partner with other University groups in the identification, development, and implementation of policies, processes, and systems supporting Stanford business practices.
6) Engage staff to participate in Working Groups* focused on specific business processes, policies, and tools.
7) Bridge communication between staff and University Management Group (UMG).

The UMG/TIPS Liaison from each group is responsible for incorporating the feedback from the TIPS group by attending meetings, reviewing agendas, and soliciting additional input where necessary during the process of business and system development.

The Senate is composed of 55 voting members serving staggered 2 year terms and 15 ex officio members. Standing guest seats are reserved for the student representatives, the Registrar, the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, the Vice Provost for Student Affairs, the Vice Provost of Faculty Development and Diversity and the Emeriti Council representative. The Chair, Vice Chair and Steering Committee members are elected from within the Senate body.

Members of the Academic Council are eligible to serve on the Senate and are placed in units based on school and discipline. Senators are elected annually by the Hare System of Proportional Representation; all Academic Council faculty may vote for faculty within their units. Elected Senators serve as free agents, not as representatives of a particular program, unit or school. The number of seats per unit is allocated relative to the size of the school and disciplines within that unit.

The Steering Committee is elected by the incoming Senate from a slate of Senators nominated by the Committee on Committees. One of the Steering Committee's first tasks is to appoint members of the incoming Senate to serve on the Committee on Committees. Each Board of Trustees subcommittee has at least one faculty member appointed via the Committee on Committees and the Nominations Committee.

Full Professors in the Academic Council are also elected to the Advisory Board, which handles the promotion and tenure of Academic Council faculty.

The Project Development Process (PDP) manual explicitly outlines the steps for engaging with the local community when developing new projects. The plan first outlines the goals of the Department of Project Management:

DPM will provide professional leadership to plan and develop high-value, quality, long-term cost-effective facilities and landscapes that enhance the academic mission of the university, embrace our partnership with our community, and reinforce our stewardship of Stanford lands. To that end, DPM endeavors to:
• Provide services with integrity and professionalism
• Communicate with internal stakeholders and consultants
• Lead project teams to successful outcomes
• Balance competing priorities of the various university stakeholders
• Approach project challenges with creativity, respecting the ideas of others
• Pursue the various goals of Stanford University

The PDP Manual then goes on to list tasks in each phase of the project, which each entail an element of the community plan. From start to finish, these steps include outline community outreach goals, outline community outreach plan, define community outreach plan, and refine community outreach plan. For each stage, there are recommended elements to include, such as land use planning, investment, impacts to the local community health and welfare, and impacts to community character. Many of these considerations are further detailed in Stanford's Sustainable Building Guidelines, available here: https://sustainable.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Stanford_sustainable_guidelines.pdf.

The Office of Government and Community Relations serves as a formal liaison between Stanford and its neighboring communities by maintaining relations with numerous community-based organizations and individuals. Government and Community Relations supports campus-community efforts that contribute to the vitality of the greater community. More information on the bodies and mechanisms through which external stakeholders engage with Stanford’s governance is available at the Office of Government and Community Relations’ website, below. A few compelling examples are also highlighted below.

http://govcr.stanford.edu/

Stanford has been operating under two key Santa Clara County entitlement documents: a Community Plan and a 2000 General Use Permit, or GUP. The Community Plan provides a set of rules and policies to guide the university’s land use planning over an extended period of time. The GUP implements those policies and includes specific conditions to minimize impacts of Stanford’s development. In 2016, Stanford began the application process to Santa Clara County for an updated 2018 General Use Permit to authorize the next phase of campus land use in the coming years. The process requires both internal examination of the university’s academic and space needs as well as consultation with neighbors and community partners. Stanford launched the community effort with three public open houses in early June 2016 to solicit input from residents of campus, representatives from neighboring communities, and community organizations. In January 2017 Stanford held a Community Forum to inform the public about what is included in the application and next steps in the process. Stanford staff continue to provide information about the 2018 GUP application to community based organizations at their request.

Additional information about the 2018 General Use Permit can be found here: https://gup.stanford.edu/

Stanford's Land Use and Environmental Planning (LUEP) group is also involved with advising and approving academic use of Stanford lands and sharing those plans with the local community. The group works with numerous community organizations as well as individual community volunteers not only to help preserve Stanford lands, but also to review future plans for research, teaching, and recreation in the Stanford Foothills. Through these partnerships, staff in LUEP are able to not only educate members of the community about stewardship of biological and cultural resources, but also to review with them Stanford's approach to land use planning and collect feedback. Local organizations with whom LUEP partners include Grassroots Ecology and Magic.

Another example of Stanford’s public engagement efforts centers around the Stanford Research Park. Since 1951, Stanford has held a formal partnership with the Stanford Research Park, a 700-acre piece of real estate located on Stanford’s land that Stanford devoted for corporate innovation after World War II. The Stanford Research Park now houses over 150 companies, comprising a diverse and thriving community of entrepreneurs and innovators, many of whom are Stanford graduates and/or participate in Stanford’s governance in various ways. The Stanford Research Park itself is a core component of Stanford’s real estate and works closely with Stanford’s Real Estate Office within Land, Buildings and Real Estate to continually expand formal ties with the university in a variety of ways. More information is available at the link below.

http://stanfordresearchpark.com/