Trinity College (CT)
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

"The Student Government Association is our students’ representative body. SGA members also serve as student representatives on standing committees (i.e Summit Facilities Committee and Sustainability Committee) and in numerous other ways collaborate with faculty, administrators, and staff in the work of the college. There is an Exempt Staff Council and a Non-Exempt Staff Council. Both Councils have liaisons from the President’s Cabinet, and the Council Chairs meet bi-weekly with the Cabinet Liaisons and the VP for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. A strong organization of faculty committees is at the core of the faculty's work to govern itself and help advance the college. The faculty meeting is the principal instrument by which the Faculty discharges its responsibility for ruling on curriculum and educational policy, faculty status, aspects of student life which relate to the educational process, and all other matters that fall under the duties and prerogatives of the Faculty. The faculty meeting is also the principal instrument for formulating faculty recommendations to the Administration and the Trustees. Resolutions adopted by the faculty meeting are statements of faculty policy, which bind faculty committees and which serve to express the will of the Faculty to the Administration and Trustees. Response from Dr. Davis: The Student Government Association is our students’ representative body. SGA members also serve as student representatives on standing committees (i.e Summit Facilities Committee and Sustainability Committee) and in numerous other ways collaborate with faculty, administrators, and staff in the work of the college. There is an Exempt Staff Council and a Non-Exempt Staff Council. Both Councils regularly, have liaisons from the President’s Cabinet, and the Council Chairs meet bi-weekly with the Cabinet Liaisons and the VP for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Council Members have also met with members of the Board of Trustees this year. A strong organization of faculty committees is at the core of the faculty's work to govern itself and help advance the college.

The faculty meeting is the principal instrument by which the Faculty discharges its responsibility for ruling on curriculum and educational policy, faculty status, aspects of student life which relate to the educational process, and all other matters that fall under the duties and prerogatives of the Faculty. The faculty meeting is also the principal instrument for formulating faculty recommendations to the Administration and the Trustees. Resolutions adopted by the faculty meeting are statements of faculty policy, which bind faculty committees and which serve to express the will of the Faculty to the Administration and Trustees."

While there is not a community council, student and faculty representatives regularly meet with the Board of Trustees and college leadership meets regularly with community members through the SINA partnership and the Community Relations office.

The College has staff councils – Exempt Staff Council and Non-Exempt Staff Councils – that participate regularly on college-wide committees and other institutional bodies like the Policy and Budget Committee and the Human Resources directed Benefits Committee. There have been Board of Trustee and Office of the President efforts to expand shared governance as a whole at the College since 2017.
The College has programmatic governance structures that involve Hartford residents. The Center for Hartford Engagement and Research (CHER) has an advisory committee that has 4 Hartford residents in addition to the Liberal Arts Action Lab (LAAL) that has a committee of Hartford residents who review and score the research questions submitted by community organization. The top 4 or 5 scored proposals get selected each semester.