Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.90
Liaison Steve Mital
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

University of Oregon
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Steve Mital
Office of Sustainability Director
Finance & Administration
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have formal participatory or shared governance bodies through which the following stakeholders can regularly participate in the governance of the institution?:
Yes or No
Students Yes
Academic staff Yes
Non-academic staff Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal participatory or shared governance bodies:

The Board of Trustees of the University of Oregon is the university’s governing body. The broad responsibilities of this 15-member group are to supervise, coordinate, manage, and regulate the UO, as provided by state statute.

The Board of Trustees has ultimate governing authority for the University. The Retention and Delegation of Authority articulates lines of authority delegated to the President of the University (or his designee(s) from the Board of Trustees, and specifies which governing authorities require action or contemplation by the Board itself.

In addition, the University of Oregon has adopted a Constitution of the University of Oregon, which defines the manner in which the Statutory Faculty shall exercise its governance obligations. This Constitution reflects the original collegial and consultative spirit embodied in the 1876 charter and aligns with subsequent codifications and clarifications of that Charter expressed in Oregon Revised Statutes. The complete text of the Constitution is available here:
https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/9/13250/files/2016/08/Constitution-of-the-UODec_15_2011-11qcan8.pdf

In addition, the University Senate derives its authority from the statutory faculty, by virtue of the University of Oregon Constitution, therefore it expresses the faculty's will on academic matters through appropriate legislation and policy proposals. Though its power derives from the faculty, the Senate draws its members from and represents the entire university community, including students, staff, officers of administration, officers of research, librarians and faculty. With its broad representation across the university, the Senate expresses the will of the entire university through resolutions addressing issues that affect the community.
https://senate.uoregon.edu/governance-2/senate-bylaws/

In addition, the UO Senate is a member of the Oregon Interinstitutional Faculty Senate. The IFS website is here: http://oregonifs.org/

In addition, the UO Senate is a member of the PAC12 – ALC. Their web page is here: http://pac12alc.org/

Students:
The Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) Serves as the student-led and university-recognized student government at the University of Oregon. The primary function of the ASUO is to fulfil its mission through the recommendation and allocation of the student incidental fee, and the implementation of the programs set forth by use of this fee. The ASUO also serves as the primary campus mechanism through which students can express collective opinions on campus policies and procedures, as well as organize and advocate in campaigns to benefit student interests both on campus and throughout the wider community. The ASUO includes a student senate whose members are elected by the student body. The ASUO Constitution is attached for reference. https://asuo.uoregon.edu/

Staff:
All staff may vote in elections for representatives to the UO senate. The Univeristy Senate shall consist of 51-54 voting members representing a total of six Constituent Groups. The groups (and the number of University Senate seats to be alloted to each group are: Statutory Faculty (37); Librarians (2); Officers of Administration (3); Students (5); Classified Staff (3); Career Non-Tenure-Track Research Faculty (1).


Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body:
15

Number of students representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
1

Number of academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
1

Number of non-academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
1

Number of women serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
7

Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women:
46.67

Website URL where information about the institution’s highest governing body may be found:
Does the institution host or support one or more formal bodies through which external stakeholders have a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them?:
Yes

A brief description of the campus-community council or equivalent body that gives external stakeholders a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them:

Numerous formal bodies hosted by the University of Oregon provide external stakeholders with regular opportunities to voice their opinions in institutional decisions that affect them. The following efforts demonstrate the extent of engagement with external stakeholders across all units of the University.
 
UO Parking and Transportation
Campus transportation works with campus-area communities on an ongoing basis to work on issues of parking and transportation of mutual concern. External stakeholder participation is embedded as an ongoing component of this division’s work. For example, Parking and Transportation is currently developing a Transportation Services Strategic Plan. As noted by the office, “Access to and around campus and parking services impact every campus user, and the surrounding community. With that in mind, we are gathering feedback from multiple campus user-groups and individuals, and external partner agencies.” 
https://transportation.uoregon.edu/planning-projects
 
Campus Planning, Design and Construction
The Campus Planning and Design and Construction units provide regular opportunities for external stakeholder engagement. All campus planning, design, and construction projects include opportunities for public input, including public meetings that are held in collaboration with local governments.
https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/campus-planning. Specifically, the Campus Planning Committee regularly reaches out and invites leaders from five neighborhood associations to participate in Campus Planning Committee (CPC) meetings. (The meetings are open to the public and in some cases are heavily attended by people living near campus.) There are numerous examples of community members’ feedback resulting in substantive changes to CPC’s final recommendations to the President. To be clear, this is a university led process that occurs in addition to land use processes managed by the City of Eugene.
 
Government and Community Relations
The Government and Community Relations division at the University of Oregon serves as the liaison between the University and the surrounding community. Within this division, the Community Relations unit supports numerous efforts to engage with external stakeholders and to liaise with elected officials at all levels of government. The unit coordinates legislative and advocacy efforts at the federal, state, and local levels. The division’s mission is to build and strengthen relationships with the university's constituencies and encourage investment in and support for the university, its programs, and its initiatives.
Community Relations serves as the liaison between the community and the university. The mission of this unit is to foster good relations and open communication with local governments, surrounding neighborhoods, civic and community-based organizations, and the local business community. Staff members monitor local ordinances, programs, and proposals, and direct the university's engagement in local community events and activities.
State Affairs coordinates the activities of the university on matters relating to its state financial support and legislative priorities. Staff members serve as the liaison to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission and Oregon Legislature and monitor legislative and policy initiatives. They also manage the university's advocacy program and staff legislative committees of the UO Foundation Board of Trustees and UO Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Federal Affairs coordinates the activities of the university on matters relating to the federal government and Congress. Staff members develop and implement the university's federal agenda; monitor federal legislation, programs, and proposals; assess potential implications and opportunities; and serve as the liaison between the university and members of the Oregon congressional delegation, congressional committees, and federal agencies (working closely with the UO Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation).
https://gcr.uoregon.edu/community-relations
 
Division of Equity and Inclusion
The Campus and Community Engagement unit within the Division of Equity and Inclusion develops relationships on campus and with external stakeholders through multiple avenues, including the following programs:
Community Building and Engagement: The office collaborates externally with key campus partners and communities to translate culturally-relevant needs, interests and resources through community partnerships, information sharing, and legislative advocacy. 
Student Success and Engagement: Develop and support co-curricular leadership and retention initiatives for underrepresented and underserved students at the UO by connecting them to faculty, staff, administration, alumni and the community broadly. 
https://inclusion.uoregon.edu/about-us-0

Board of Trustees 
The Board of Trustees is the highest governing body of the Institution. As a public institution, all Board of Trustees meetings are open to the public and all meetings allow opportunity for public input into Board activities. The broad responsibilities of this 15-member group are to supervise, coordinate, manage, and regulate the UO, as provided by state statute. The Board of Trustees holds quarterly public meetings, at which public comment is invited. Details on the meeting schedule and public comment process are provided here: https://trustees.uoregon.edu/meetings

University Senate
In addition, the University Senate holds regular monthly meetings, all of which are open to the public. The following excerpt from the Senate Bylaws details the means by which stakeholders can participated in Senate meetings and decision-making:
3.4 Senate Meetings. The schedule, location and agenda of Senate meetings shall be
posted on the Senate website. Senate meetings shall be open to the public. The only valid
exceptions shall be those sections of Senate meetings dealing with Distinguished Service
Awards and Honorary Doctorates (see Article 3.10) and those specified by the Oregon
Public Meetings law (ORS 192.640, 650 and 660). Upon including in the public record
one or more of the above-specified reason(s) for going into executive session, the Senate
President shall close the meeting to all non-senators (University of Oregon Constitution
Section 8.1.2).
3.4.1 Access to the Senate Floor. All Senators, Statutory Faculty as defined in
the University of Oregon Constitution Section 2.3, and Emeriti Faculty shall have
the right to the Senate floor to speak on any matter under discussion in the
University Senate. The President of the Senate may confer priority to the floor to
Senate members when necessary to facilitate the business of the Senate
(University of Oregon Constitution Section 8.1.3).
3.4.1.1 Visitors. Visitors are always warmly welcome at meetings of the
University Senate. Visitors shall have access to the Senate floor at the
pleasure of the Senate, which must formally suspend the Senate rules to
allow visitors to speak at Senate meetings. A two-thirds affirmative vote
shall be required for suspension of the rules. The Senate President shall
have the right, without requesting a suspension of the rules, to invite
visitors to make reports to the Senate.
3.4.2 Minutes of Senate meetings. All Senate meetings shall have formal
minutes prepared by the Senate Executive Coordinator who shall also post them
on the Senate website in a timely manner. All meeting minutes shall be approved
by the Senate.
The complete Senate Bylaws are available here:
https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/9/13250/files/2016/08/BYLAWS-of-the-University-of-Oregon-Senate-Clean-417-1-27mz7qy.pdf


Number of people from underrepresented groups serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body.:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure 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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