Board of Trustees Puts Shared Governance in Jeopardy: Let’s Consider

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2 thoughts on “Board of Trustees Puts Shared Governance in Jeopardy: Let’s Consider”

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Dear Friends,

We would like to thank Dr. Steuer for his comments and underscore the importance of what he has so ably articulated. The Board of Trustees’ resolution on seamless transfer and the pending resolution on multiple measures of student success indicate a shift in the direction of the Board. We now have a Board whose actions have resulted in bypassing our system of shared governance and substituting their judgment on issues of academic matters where faculty has primary responsibility.

Dr. Steuer notes that he is “not aware of any SUNY college…that has as strong a shared governance system as we do.” Our shared governance structure at NCC ensures the faculty a central voice in academic matters and policies. These rights are guaranteed in the NCCFT Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”) and specified in the Academic Senate bylaws. The recent actions of our Board as well as the current Administration’s failure to effectively work within the established shared governance structure put this institution’s future, as we know it and its academic integrity in jeopardy.

The Nassau Community College AAUP Advocacy Chapter (NAAC) would like to point out that the AAUP’s 1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities states that “The faculty has primary responsibility for such fundamental areas as curriculum, subject matter and methods of instruction, research, faculty status, and those aspects of student life which relate to the educational process.”

1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities

Last week we shared with you the AAUP Centennial Declaration. The last statement refers to the importance of shared governance in a vibrant institution of higher education.

10. Faculty shared governance is the cornerstone of any university that values teaching and research. The authority of faculty in hiring decisions, promotions, and curricular matters should not be compromised by donors, trustees, or administrators. Similarly, the faculty voice in budgeting, institutional planning, and other internal operations should not be marginalized.

As a faculty, are we ready to give this up? At what point do we take a stand? Please see what the faculty at nearby Brooklyn College decided to do over the usurpation of faculty control over curriculum by its Board of Trustees by going to: Brooklyn College Faculty Vote to Retake Control of Curriculum Decision Making

This is the conversation we need to have as a faculty: are we willing to cede control over our curricula to our local Board of Trustees and to the SUNY Board of Trustees? If not, what must be done to maintain our traditional role in curriculum?

With best wishes from the NACC

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