Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 77.56
Liaison Ruairi O'Mahony
Submission Date Feb. 15, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Massachusetts Lowell
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.50 / 3.00 Ruairi O'Mahony
Executive Director
Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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:
Student Government Association (SGA) is comprised of elected representatives from the undergraduate student body representing each of the academic colleges. Their purpose is to represent the opinions, rights and interests of the students of UMass Lowell. In addition, the members of student government serve as a vehicle of expression for students through structured communication with faculty, staff, administration and the Board of Trustees. The UMass Board of Trustees has elected student representation from each UMass campus: https://www.umassp.edu/bot/members

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:
UMass Lowell's 2020 Strategic Plan drives the sustainable growth of our university. The plan is governed by a Strategic Planning Commission made up of thirteen committees comprised of primarily staff members: Academic Technology Climate Action Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Corporate Relations Facilities Renewal and Master Planning Financial Planning Global Engagement & Inclusive Culture Innovative Research Marketing NCAA Division I Institutional Performance Sustainability Title IX Transformational Education Web Advisory Each of these committees is responsible for governing the direction in which the university grows e.g. Facilities Renewal and Master Planning makes decisions in relation to capital planning and expenditures.

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 purpose of the Faculty Senate is to ensure the active representation of the faculty and librarians in the governance of the University. The faculty exercise primary responsibility in such academic matters as curriculum, subject matter and methods of instruction, research, admissions, libraries and other aspects of the university life which are directly related to the educational process. The Faculty Senate shall be nominated from and elected by the full-time academic faculty and librarians by department or academic unit with a personnel committee, at a ratio of 1:5. Senators shall be elected for two years by the full-time faculty and librarians in their departments or academic units. In departments or academic units with two or more senators the term of office shall be staggered. The normal term of office for faculty senators shall be from 1 May of one calendar year through 30 April of the second following calendar year. http://www.uml.edu/docs/by-laws-4-6-2010cm_tcm18-54064.pdf

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:
170817 Strategic Partnership Agreement_City_UMBA,UML_fully executed.pdf

The policies and procedures:
UMass Lowell engages external stakeholders in land use planning, capital investment projects and institutional details for each project. The approach is documented in our Strategic Partnership Master Agreement with the City of Lowell. Specific to land use planning, capital investment, and other institutional decisions that affect the community the agreement establishes the following: 1. 1. The University Chancellor and the City Manager, and other University and City officials will formally meet at least twice annually to facilitate and maintain direct and constructive dialogue about matters of mutual interest and concern. The University will provide an annual report to the City documenting the services, infrastructure improvements and civic initiatives conducted during the year. 2. 2. The City and the University agree to continue to collaborate on various initiatives to promote economic development in Lowell, the integration between University research and workforce development with partners in the City's business community, and the recruitment of businesses and real estate development attracted to Lowell by the growth and activity at the University. The University agrees to continue to provide a desk for the City's Economic Development staff to use in its Innovation Hub at no cost to the City, as long as the Innovation Hub shall remain open. 3. Upon invitation by the City, the University shall annually present its public master plans and strategic development vision to the Lowell City Council or a designated Subcommittee thereof.

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):
Local Government and/or educational organizations: Recent example includes our Campus Transportation Plan Update Steering Committee with representation from the City of Lowell, Northern Middlesex Council of Governments, and the Middlesex Three Coalition. Private Sector Organizations: The UMass Board of Trustees counts a number of high ranking executives from Massachusetts' private sector organizations amongst its membership. Per Massachusetts Legislature's General Laws "No more than one-third of the voting members of the board of trustees shall be principally employed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts". Civil Society (e.g. NGOs, NPOs): The campus regularly engages with the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust and seeks their support and guidance on areas of environmental concern/opportunity on the campus and the wider Lowell community. Similarly, Mill City Grows has an active role in the oversight and governance of our urban agriculture program at UMass Lowell.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

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.