Following last week’s open letter from George Washington University Board of Trustees Chair Nelson Carbonell, B.S. ’85, full-time faculty were emailed a survey to provide input on shared governance at the university. The survey was sent on April 4, and faculty members have been asked to complete it by April 18.
Last May, the Board of Trustees passed a resolution charging Mr. Carbonell to form a committee of board members, faculty members and administrators to meet with the faculty and administration of the university to review the Faculty Code and related governing documents, and recommend to the board any appropriate revisions. The survey is part of an effort to collect feedback from faculty members, who have been widely engaged in the review process. Mr. Carbonell and the committee have met with more than 600 faculty members from all 10 schools across the university.
Through these meetings, five core principles emerged as areas for potential improvement. The principles include promoting academic freedom; establishing consistent and transparent processes for tenure appointment and promotion; defining roles for the faculty and administration in the selection, performance appraisal and retention of deans and other senior academic administrators; and creating a framework of faculty titles, policies and procedures across the university that also addresses the unique needs of each school, department, center and institute.
The survey asks faculty members to provide their thoughts on each of the five areas. The feedback will be used to inform recommendations to the Board of Trustees.