Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.47
Liaison Sally DeLeon
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Maryland, College Park
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.50 / 3.00 Sally DeLeon
Acting Manager
Environmental Safety, Sustainability and Risk
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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 University of Maryland Student Government Association is the undergraduate student lead governing body at UMD. Student representatives in the legislative and executive branches are elected by their peers. https://www.umdsga.com/ The University of Maryland Graduate Student Government (GSG) is the official representative body for graduate students at UMD. Student representatives and the executive board are elected by their peers. https://gsg.umd.edu/ The University Senate includes student representatives. As Senators and Senate Committee members, these constituents directly participate in the shared governance of the University of Maryland. A list of current Senate members is available online: https://www.senate.umd.edu/CurrentSenatorsstaff The USM Board of Regents, the University of Maryland's highest governing body, includes an elected student representative. The University System Student Council reads applications submitted by student governance organizations at each institution, and selects one applicant from each USM school to nominate for Student Regent. These selections are sent to the Governor, who appoints one of nominated students as Student Regent to serve a one year term as a voting member on the Board of Regents. The University System Student Council is composed of two students from each institution in the University System of Maryland. This council advises the University System of Maryland Board of Regents on decisions that impact students. USM by-laws describing this process are available online at: https://www.usmd.edu/regents/bylaws/SectionI/I300.pdf http://www.usmd.edu/regents/bylaws/SectionI/I301.pdf Members of the Board of Regents: https://www.usmd.edu/regents/members/ Members of the University System Student Council: https://www.usmd.edu/usm/workgroups/StudentCouncil/cm.pdf

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?:
No

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:
The University Senate includes staff representatives that are peer-elected. As Senators and Senate Committee members, these constituents directly participate in the shared governance of the University of Maryland. A list of current Senate members is available online: https://www.senate.umd.edu/CurrentSenatorsstaff The Council of University System Staff represents all exempt and non-exempt staff members that are not represented by a union. Each institution elects 2-3 members to the council. This council advises the Board of Regents on policy issues that impact staff. More information about the Council of University System Staff can be found at the following links: https://www.usmd.edu/usm/workgroups/SystemStaff/ https://www.usmd.edu/usm/workgroups/SystemStaff/cuss_members_201819.pdf

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? :
No

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:
The University Senate includes faculty representatives that are peer-elected. As Senators and Senate Committee members, these constituents directly participate in the shared governance of the University of Maryland. A list of current Senate members is available online: https://www.senate.umd.edu/CurrentSenatorsstaff The Council of University System Faculty is similarly composed of faculty members elected from each university to serve a three-year term. The number of representatives is based on the size of the institution’s full time faculty. This Council serves in an advisory fashion to the Board of Regents. More information about the Council of University System Faculty can be found at the following links: https://www.usmd.edu/usm/workgroups/SystemFaculty/members https://www.usmd.edu/usm/workgroups/SystemFaculty/bylaws

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:
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The policies and procedures:
The USM Board of Regents has a policy to ensure that the surrounding community and local governments are informed about facilities planning. When a new building is planned for construction on USM land or during the planning phase for modifying and existing, policy requires reasonable efforts to notify adjoining property owners or occupants and local governments within one mile of the structure. https://www.usmd.edu/regents/bylaws/SectionVIII/VIII1040.pdf The University of Maryland has gone beyond what is required in this policy and jointly funds the College Park City-University Partnership (CPCUP), a nonprofit local development corporation. The Board of Directors includes representation from local government, local non-profits, state government, local residents, and university administration. The Partnership developed the University District Plan and facilitates committees with university and community participation in each of the five pillars this plan: Housing and Development, Transportation, Education, Public Safety and Sustainability. https://collegeparkpartnership.org/university-district-vision/

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 Yes
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):
The university of Maryland has many bodies and mechanisms through which external stakeholders are engaged in institutional governance and decision making. The College Park City-University Partnership (described as an example of USM Policy implementation above) is one example. Two more examples are provided below: The Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland brings together students and alumni to promote social change, philanthropy, and nonprofit leadership. Through partnerships with local nonprofits, students learn about effective philanthropy and management, and implement their own projects in the local community. This Institute aims to become a global leader in nonprofit education. The Do Good Council serves as the board of the Institute, and consists of University professors and leaders of nonprofit organizations. Organizations represented by the council include United Way of the National Capital Area, The Nature Conservancy, and Imperfect Produce. More information about the leadership and governance of UMD’s Do Good Council can be found online at the following links: http://publicpolicy.umd.edu/dogood-institute/about/people/do-good-council-0 http://publicpolicy.umd.edu/dogood-institute/about In 2017, the State of Maryland worked with UMD to establish the Maryland Energy Innovations Institute. This organization aims to catalyze breakthrough research at academic institutions across the state and attract private investment in clean energy innovation and commercialization. The institute expands on research of more than 100 UMD faculty in clean energy technologies like solar, wind, energy efficiency, and battery and fuel cell technology. The Board of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute is composed of UMD faculty, Maryland government leaders, private sector CEOs, and NPO leaders. Some of the organizations represented on the board are Exelon, Solar Energy Industries Association, American Microgrid Solutions LLC, and the Maryland energy Administration. The members are listed online at: https://energy.umd.edu/external-advisory-board

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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