University of St. Thomas
PA-3: Participatory Governance

The Undergraduate Student Government (USG), a body elected by students, holds regular meetings and takes up a wide variety of issues related to student life at the university. USG is comprised of 39 student leaders representing different class years, student groups and initiatives on campus. The USG is led by a council of seven Executive Board members elected each year by all students. Each class year elects a class president and two class senators. Larger campus student groups/offices such as Residence Hall Association, St Thomas Activities and Recreation, the Diversity Activities Board, International Students, Off-Campus Student Services and Athletics all have appointed representatives. Other senator positions such as Residential senator, Legislative Affairs and Neighborhood senators are elected as well as USG committee chairs for the Sustainability, Spirituality, Diversity and Student Organizations Committees. Members of USG participate in a number of University Committees including the Library Advisory Committee, Parking Appeals, Budget Advisory, CAS Curriculum Committee and Technology Advisory Committee. Student Affairs staff members attend USG meetings, serve as advisers and assist where appropriate. USG's leadership group meets twice a semester with senior administrators to discuss important issues. St. Thomas undergraduate students also have the opportunity to participate on three of the university's Board of Trustees (BOT) committees: Student Affairs, Academic Affairs and Audit/Finance. The USG President and USG Vice President for Diversity automatically sit on the Student Life Committee. USG oversees an application process at the beginning of the academic year for undergraduate students to apply to serve on the committees as a representative or alternate. Each committee has two student representatives and one alternate. USG's BOT representatives are a diverse group of students who represent the undergraduate student population including a wide of range of majors, class years and involvement.

The Staff Council meets regularly to take up issues of concern to employees and then share those concerns with the senior administration. The council also hosts, once a semester, a luncheon in which administrators engage in discussion on important issues and ask questions from audience members.

While faculty members do not have an elected representative on the Board of Trustees, faculty do serve on trustee committees (e.g., Academic Affairs). Faculty also engage in governance through the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate meets once every two weeks and is responsible for establishing university-wide academic standards and policies that represent minimum standards of faculty rights and responsibilities in accordance with the university's mission, and with particular attention to the common good of the university. Depending on the size of the academic unit, each school, college or division will elect their representatives, each of whom serves a three-year term. Currently, units are represented by one to five senators, with a total of 41 senators. Additionally, two representatives of the adjunct faculty serve staggered two-year terms. Given the scope and time required to meet their responsibilities, the job of the faculty senator is recognized as a major service commitment to the university. The President, the Executive Vice President and Provost, and a representative of the academic deans are ex officio members. All full-time faculty members have limited floor privileges at meetings. The officers of the faculty are the chair of the faculty, the immediate past chair of the faculty, and the chair-elect of the faculty. Each of these positions is a one-year term. Each spring, full-time faculty members elect a tenured full-time faculty member to be chair-elect of the faculty. Senators select a secretary of the Faculty Senate and a parliamentarian, who each serve for staggered two-year terms. A faculty senator's role carries three general responsibilities: a. To receive and/or solicit faculty on matters that may be brought to the Faculty Senate, a process that fosters an environment of bottom-up, pro-active governance that responds to the concerns of all academic areas of the university. b. To contribute to the quality of discussion on matters before the Faculty Senate by presenting and considering all pertinent facts; to contribute to the mutual understanding and acceptance of Faculty Senate decisions and recommendations by ensuring that all legitimate perspectives may be aired. In meeting this responsibility the faculty senator contributes to a decision- making process that seeks the common good through broad participation in a climate marked by civility, mutual trust and mutual respect. c. To give expression to faculty voice on matters immediately before the Faculty Senate through active engagement in Faculty Senate deliberations and through informed and conscientious voting. In meeting this responsibility the faculty senator acts as steward of the intellectual, cultural, spiritual and material welfare of the community.

The university works closely with, and has representatives to, the West Summit Neighborhood Advisory Committee (WSNAC), which is mandated by city ordinance to engage in discussion and seek opinions on issues that affect the university and the neighborhood. The committee meets monthly, as do its three subcommittees (on Neighbor-Student Relations, Housing, and Campus Development and Transportation). The committee has members from four neighborhood organizations and reports on its work annually to the St. Paul City Council. WSNAC bylaws are available here: http://wsnac.net/media/wsnac/pdfs/WSNACbylaws_2015Feb.pdf

The university's Board of Trustees board has a representative to the West Summit Neighborhood Advisory Committee. While the entities listed above do not have a formal seat on the university's full Board of Trustees, private sector organizations are free to submit their concerns to the university's administration.