University of California, Davis
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

The University of California (UC) Board of Regents is the highest form of governance for all ten UC campuses. The UC Board of Regents consists of Appointed Regents, Ex Officio Regents, and a Student Regent. Additionally, Regents-Designate, Faculty Representatives to the Regents, and Advisors to the Regents engage with and advise members of the Board.

The student Regent is a voting member of The Regents of the University of California, attending all meetings of the Board and its Committees and serving a one-year term. This position is not elected but is filled by application and open to all students currently enrolled in the UC system. From the time of appointment as a Student Regent, but prior to the commencement of service as a member of the Board, the appointee holds the title Regent-designate and is invited to participate in all meetings of the Board and of its Committees, but without a vote.

UC faculty in the Academic Senate carry out shared-governance responsibilities established by The Regents. The Senate is empowered by UC's governing body, the Board of Regents, to exercise direct control over academic matters of central importance to the University – to determine academic policy, set conditions for admission and the granting of degrees, authorize and supervise courses and curricula; and to advise the administration on faculty appointments, promotions and budgets.

The Systemwide Academic Senate and the ten Divisional Senates (one for each UC campus) provide the organizational framework that enables the faculty to exercise its right to participate in the University's governance. The faculty voice is formed through a deliberative process that includes the Standing Committees of the Senate, the Academic Council, the Assembly of the Academic Senate, and their Divisional counterparts. Consultation with the senior administration occurs in a parallel structure: at the systemwide level between the Academic Council Chair and the President; and on the campus level between the Divisional Senate Chairs and the Chancellors. With some exceptions and as defined by the Standing Order of the Regents 105.1, Senate membership is granted to individuals who have a ladder-rank or other selected academic appointment at the University.

Two faculty members — the chair and vice chair of the Academic Council — sit on the Board of Regents as non-voting members. The Academic Council elects its chair and vice chair.

Staff members can participate in governance on a UC-wide scale as Advisors to the Regents. The Staff Advisors are selected from all staff and non-Senate academic employees and are appointed by the President in consultation with the Chairman of the Board. Serving as non-voting advisors to designated Regents' committees, the Staff Advisors have direct input into the Board's deliberations and decisions.

UC Davis has five recognized campus constituent organizations. The Associated Students, University of California, Davis (ASUCD); the Graduate Student Association (GSA); The Davis Division of the Academic Senate; the Academic Federation; and the UC Davis Staff Assembly comprise the entire campus community and are the basis of the shared governance process of this campus.

The ASUCD and the GSA are all avenues through which students can participate in campus governance. The ASUCD government has three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive office consists of the ASUCD President, Vice President, and ASUCD Controller as well as their respective staff. The legislative branch of ASUCD is headed by the ASUCD Senate, which is supported by a large network containing seven commissions and various committees. The judicial branch is headed by the ASUCD Judicial Council. Together the three ASUCD branches provide a platform for students to advocate for issues they want to raise awareness about, express themselves creatively, and foster leadership skills. The GSA consists of a general assembly and the executive council. The general assembly includes representatives from the graduate groups of UC Davis and has fiscal authority over the GSA. The executive council meets regularly in between monthly Assembly meetings to prepare Assembly agendas, organize GSA projects and activities, follow-up on advocacy items, and formulate positions on behalf of the GSA Assembly.

The Davis Division of the Academic Senate and the Academic Federation are two organizations that are parallel in function and allow for faculty participation in institutional governance. The Davis Division of the Academic Senate speaks as the official voice of faculty on the UC Davis campus and is one of ten campus divisions that compose the Systemwide Academic Senate and speak as the official voice of all UC faculty. Representing members of 17 academic titles, the UC Davis Academic Federation is the only organization of its kind in the University of California system. The Federation promotes the ideas and interests of our members to campus administration and other stakeholders, often working closely with the Academic Senate on matters of mutual importance.

UC Davis Staff Assembly is dedicated to promoting the welfare, interests, and diversity of staff, the campus and the University of California. The UC Davis Staff Assembly meets regularly with UC Davis administration on a range of issues important to staff, and works to enhance communication among the university community along with proposing and sponsoring programs and activities committed to the interests of staff.

UC Davis participates in an Annual Public Meeting and additional twice-a-year public meetings qualifying as formal bodies providing a voice for external stakeholders. These meetings are the result of a legally binding memorandum of understanding on a series of shared goals and commitments to improve collaboration and partnership between the City of Davis, County of Yolo, and the University of California, Davis; the MOU was established in Fall 2018.

The Annual Public Meeting includes UC Davis executive leadership and elected officials from Yolo County and the City of Davis. In addition, UC Davis senior staff participate in a formal 2x2x2 meeting structure open to the public with elected officials and senior staff from Yolo County and the City of Davis. These meetings provide opportunities for extensive public comment as well as detailed dialogue between the campus and elected leaders.

The STARS Technical Manual does not provide clear methodology or guidance for how to report for this credit in the absence of formal self-identification of gender or underrepresented groups status.

The Board of Regents’ office stated that it would be inappropriate to survey board members regarding gender identities or other identification regarding under-represented groups because of privacy concerns. With input from the AASHE STARS Team, UC Office of the President and campuses devised a count based on the pronouns used on the Regent’s website biographies.

The pronouns used in the public biographies of the 26 people listed on the Board of Regents Members and Advisors web page were used as the proxy to determine the number that are women and/or individuals who do not self-identify as men. Fifteen people had “he/him” pronouns in their bios and eleven people had “she/her” pronouns, resulting in a count of 42% women/individuals not identified as men. These data form the basis for our response regarding gender.

Because there is no clear methodology or guidance for how to ascertain underrepresented groups status of individual members of the Board of Regents, in the absence of self-identification, the UC campuses have chosen not to respond to the optional question about underrepresented groups. In the future, the UC will continue to work with the system-wide Diversity and Engagement office, who also seek more official Board demographics data, in an attempt to get official public reporting of gender data, and, as appropriate, underrepresented groups status.

Website URL for the Associated Students, University of California, Davis (ASUCD): https://asucd.ucdavis.edu/government/

Website URL for the Graduate Student Association (GSA): https://ucdavisgsa.wordpress.com/

Website URL for Davis Division of the Academic Senate: https://academicsenate.ucdavis.edu/about

Website URL for the Academic Federation: https://academicfederation.ucdavis.edu/about

Website URL for the Staff Assembly: https://staff.ucdavis.edu/

Website URL for the UC Board of Regents: https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/members-and-advisors/index.html#faculty-reps

Website URL for University of California of the President: https://www.ucop.edu/mission/

Website URL for the UC Davis administrative units and structure: https://www.ucdavis.edu/about/administration/top-administrative-units/

Website URL for article related to the MOU between the City of Davis, County of Yolo, and UC Davis: https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/city-davis-yolo-county-and-uc-davis-agree-memorandum-understanding-partnership-and-growth/

MOU between the City of Davis and UC Davis: http://documents.cityofdavis.org/Media/CityManagersOffice/Documents/PDF/CMO/Press-Releases/2018-09-25-UCDavis-City-County-MOU-final.pdf