University of Richmond
PA-3: Governance

Two students are appointed to each of the following Board of Trustees committees: Academic & Enrollment Management Committee, Advancement Committee, Business Management Committee, and Student Development Committee.

Student government: Students are eligible to participate in student government via a student council for their respective coordinate college, Westhampton College for female students and Richmond College for male students. All students are invited to run for the council or president position, and a cabinet is elected for each college and graduation year. Elections are held each year after a campaign period, and students of the represented college and graduation year vote online for the candidates they want. Additionally, the Jepson School of Leadership Studies has an elected student council, with a similar election process but students are elected to represent all of the Jepson school, not just their class year. The Robins School of Business has an elected Student Government Association for business majors. Finally, student representatives are chosen by faculty and staff to be a part of the Strategic Planning Committee.

A few student representatives are given the opportunity to be active participants in Board of Trustee committee meetings. These students have speaking powers, but do not have voting rights. Two students are appointed to each of the following Board of Trustees committees: Academic & Enrollment Management Committee, Advancement Committee, Business Management Committee, and Student Development Committee. From the Board of Trustees Articles & Bylaws page at http://president.richmond.edu/board-of-trustees/bylaws.html: "The Rector may appoint one or more faculty members, students, or alumni association representatives, upon recommendation of the President, who may consult with others, including, but not limited to, the University faculty and the academic deans, to serve on each of the Academic and Enrollment Management Committee, the Student Development Committee, the Advancement Committee, and the Business Management Committee...Any Trustee Emeritus/a, faculty member, student, or alumni association representative appointed to any such committee may vote in committee on any matter to be presented to the Board of Trustees or Executive Committee as a recommendation of such committee, but not on any matter in which the committee is exercising the final authority of the Board of Trustees. Except as otherwise specified in the charter of a committee that has been approved by the Board of Trustees, the attendance of any Trustee Emeritus/a, faculty member, student, or alumni association representative appointed to any committee shall not count towards or against the establishment of a quorum for the transaction of business by such committee."

Establishing organizational mission, vision, and/or goals: Student representatives can be, but are not always, present on the following committees: Athletics Council, Board of Publications, Environmental Awareness Group, the General Education Committee, Radio Station Board, Richmond College Student Affairs Committee (student government), Undergraduate Admissions Committee, and the Westhampton College Student Affairs Committee (Student government). While they do not have voting rights, students also have a voice in various Board of Trustees Committees, including Academic & Enrollment Management Committee, Advancement Committee, Business Management Committee, and Student Development Committee.

The University Staff Advisory Council (USAC) represents the needs of staff to senior administration, advocates for fair and equitable policies, and thinks proactively about how to make UR an employer of choice. USAC currently consists of 26 representatives, nominated and then elected by staff members within the two employment categories: exempt and non-exempt. Representation for each job category is based upon the number of staff in each category at the time of election. Nominations are solicited from all staff. All members of the staff have the right to vote in any election to determine the membership of the Council. The Associate Vice President for Human Resource Services; Manager, Events and Property Services; and the immediate past USAC chair serve as non-voting ex-officio members of the Council.

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USAC is not vested with binding authority, but serves to provide input and recommendations to the administration regarding staff interests and concerns as they bear upon the life and operation of the institution. USAC is represented on Planning and Priorities and on some hiring committees, as well as acting as a sounding board for various events like SpringFest, Winter Celebration, etc.

The University of Richmond Faculty Senate, installed during Summer 2015, is the body authorized by both the University Faculty and the Board of Trustees to represent the university faculty in the university’s governance process on matters that impact the university or affect more than one school.

One Faculty member is appointed to each of the following committees: Academic & Enrollment Management Committee, Advancement Committee, Business Management Committee, and Student Development Committee. There are nine total committees to the Board of Trustees.

Faculty serve on various Board of Trustees Committees, including Academic & Enrollment Management, Advancement, Business Management, and Student Development.

Faculty are also represented on the Strategic Plan Steering Committee: https://strategicplan.richmond.edu/process/committee/index.html

There are dozens of committees upon which faculty serve that guide the University in the efforts listed above. These include the following
Academic Affairs Council
Academic Disabilities Accommodation Committee (ADAC)
Athletics Council
Board of Publications
Board of Trustees Committees
Committee on Committees
Cross-School Curricular Oversight Committee
Cultural Affairs Committee
Environmental Awareness Group
Faculty Athletic Committee
Committee on Faculty Credentials
Faculty Senate of Virginia
Committee on Faculty Status
First-Year Seminars Committee
General Education Committee
Grievance Committee
Honorary Degrees Committee
International Education Committee
Library Committee
Program for Enhancement of Teaching Effectiveness (PETE)
Planning and Priorities
Radio Station Board
Richmond College Student Affairs Committee
Richmond Scholars Steering Committee
Undergraduate Admissions Committee
University Faculty Council
University Academic Program Committee (previously called University Senate)
Westhampton College Student Affairs Committee

Much of the work done at a leadership level will be shepherded by the newly formed Faculty Senate. Details of their work is found in the University Faculty Senate Charter:
"The University Faculty Senate provides information, advice, and recommendations to the provost, the university president, and the Board of Trustees regarding faculty interests and concerns as they bear upon the life and operation of the institution. It has the obligation to communicate to the faculty appropriate information and the results of its deliberations and to carry out such further functions as may be assigned to it by the faculty consistent with the bylaws of the university. On matters for which the Board of Trustees has delegated primary responsibility to the university faculty, the power of review or final decision lodged in the Board of Trustees or delegated by it to the university president should be exercised adversely to the recommendations of the university faculty only after careful consideration of the perspective of the faculty and thoughtful deliberation. If reasons for such decisions are offered, they shall be communicated to the University Faculty Senate. It is desirable that the university faculty should, following such communication, have opportunity for further consideration and further transmittal of its views to the university president or the Board of Trustees.

B. The University Faculty Senate, as the representative body of the faculty, shall have
primary responsibility for the following matters:
1. Providing recommendations to the appropriate bodies for all academic policies that relate to two or more schools;
2. Approving general education courses and considering cross-school curricular matters after they have gone through individual school processes. In the appropriate cases, the Senate shall consult with the provost and bring a joint recommendation to the full university faculty for its approval (see Article V for approval jurisdiction and procedures);
3. Recommending admission qualification standards for first-year and transfer applicants through the Undergraduate Admissions Committee (or its successor);
4. Providing recommendations to the appropriate bodies on student activities policies that affect students in two or more schools;
5. Conducting regularly scheduled faculty reviews of academic deans and the provost, conveying results to the relevant dean and the provost (in the case of deans) and the provost and university president (in the case of the provost) to inform the performance review for which the provost and/or the university president have ultimate responsibility.
C. The University Faculty Senate shall also, when such matters relate to two or more schools:
1. Consult regularly with the administration and, as appropriate, with the Board of Trustees regarding the development of the university’s academic objectives, and the nature, range, and pace of its efforts;
2. Consult with the administration regarding general policies governing faculty status and workloads;
3. Consult with the provost regarding the relative emphasis given to the various elements of the educational, scholarly, and creative work at the university level, such as the weights given to teaching and scholarly and creative work in performance and promotion reviews;
4. Consult with the administration regarding the general principles and policies governing the compensation of university employees;
5. Discuss with the vice president for enrollment management and the provost significant changes in the size or composition of the student body;
6. Consult with the administration regarding non-academic decisions that may have a direct impact on the academic life of the faculty and students through the established committee structure;
7. Receive regular reports, typically annually, from and consult with the vice president for business and finance regarding budgeting for academic programs and academic support programs and for the existing or prospective physical resources used for educational purposes;
8. Communicate the faculty’s priorities to and receive regular reports from the vice president for information services regarding the existing or prospective technological resources used for educational purposes;
9. Participate in short-range and long-range planning for the allocation of resources by receiving regular reports, typically annually, from and consulting with the vice president of business and finance and by the participation of the Senate president, or his or her designee, as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the University Planning and Priorities Committee or its successor constituted by the president of the university to advise him or her on university resource allocation;
* At the time of the University Faculty Senate’s establishment (June 15, 2015), this practice occurs at the meetings of the University Planning and Priorities Committee and in discussions following presentations by the vice president for business and finance.
10. Communicate the faculty’s priorities to and receive regular reports, typically annually, from the vice president for advancement regarding the development of the university’s goals for capital campaigns and other major fundraising efforts;
11. Participate in searches for university presidents, provosts, and (as appropriate) senior leadership by nominating candidates for appointment as faculty representatives on search committees and, when requested by the Board of Trustees or the university president, offering feedback on candidates in those searches"

http://facultygovernance.richmond.edu/Ch_III/index.html
https://provost.richmond.edu/committees/index.html