| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 49.76 |
| Liaison | Aurora Sharrard |
| Submission Date | Feb. 28, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Pittsburgh
PA-3: Participatory Governance
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.50 / 3.00 |
Richard
Heller Senior Electrical Engineer Facilities Management |
Do the institution’s students have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a student council)? :
Do the institution’s students have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body?:
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 Pittsburgh Student Government Board exists to promote the concerns, interests, needs, and welfare of the student body.
The purpose of the University Senate is to create and maintain adequate communication channels among students, staff, faculty, administrative offices, and the Board of Trustees for discussion and consultation on all matters affecting the welfare of the University. Senate recommendations are usually expressed through two deliberative bodies, the Faculty Assembly and the Senate Council. Recommendations form Senate bodies are made to the Chancellor or other appropriate University officers on policy matters.
Do the institution’s staff members have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a staff council)?:
Do the institution’s non-supervisory staff members have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body?:
A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which staff are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
The Staff Council was established in 1970 to represent the University of Pittsburgh staff (excluding those covered by a collective bargaining agreement). Staff Council is an organization for shared governance. At Pitt, shared governance means conversations take place within and among various campus groups—administration and staff—before those in power make the final decision.
Staff Council serves as a center for input and dissemination of information and provides a means of communication between staff and other members of the Pitt community. Membership is comprised of representatives of the University staff and officers that are elected by the Council membership. Committee chairs and vice chairs lead the efforts of the 4 standing committees.
http://staffcouncil.pitt.edu/about
The membership of the Senate consists of student and staff members of Senate Council and of Senate Standing Committees, the Chancellor of the University, eight other administrators who are members of Senate Council, four additional administrators designated by the Chancellor, and the Deans, among others.
Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a faculty senate)?:
Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body? :
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 membership of the Senate consists of all persons who hold full-time academic appointments in the University of Pittsburgh with the titles of lecturer, senior lecturer, instructor, assistant professor, associate professor or professor, all part-time tenured faculty, all persons who hold full-time appointments at the University as faculty librarians, and certain emeriti and retired faculty and librarians, among others.
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?:
A copy of the written policies and procedures:
The policies and procedures:
The University does not have specific formal policies or procedures governing the engagement of the external community in the decision making of the University that may have community impact. However, the University does have a long history of a practice to engage our community partners in the various planning processes of the University that could potentially impact the community. This is done through regularly scheduled meetings or special meetings with our community partners, residential stakeholders, institutional partners and elected officials throughout the year. This is a practice that has received the endorsement of various departments of the City of Pittsburgh (Planning, Zoning, Art Commission etc.)and has become a pre-cursor to institutions, and developers seeking approval for neighborhood projects brought before those departments.
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 |
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 Pittsburgh is an educational institution that operates on a system of shared governance. The University’s Faculty Senate represents faculty concerns and the Staff Association Council staff concerns. Both groups have established committee structure to do the business of those entities. The Senate’s Community Relations Committee has as extended the invitation for community partners to be full participants a part of the deliberations of that committee. The Staff Association has a different committee structure and deal with community issues through their executive committee.
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.