It s not just about transparency, it s about #SharedGovernance

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1 Lessons In Process: It s not just about transparency, it s about #SharedGovernance Philip L Glick, MD MBA Chair: UB Faculty Senate, and Professor of Surgery and Management Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the School of Management, University at Domenic J Licata, EdM, Chair: UB Professional Staff Senate, and Instructional Support Technician Department of Art, The College of Arts and Sciences, University at

2 We have got to get this right! Chancellor Nancy Zimpher on shared governance at the 2015 SUNY University Faculty Senate Fall Plenary

3 June 2015 SUNY Voices Campus Governance Leaders Leadership Institute Newly elected chairs of the Faculty Senate, Dr. Philip Glick, and of the Professional Staff Senate, Domenic J. Licata, inspired by passionate advocates of shared governance at the June 2015 SUNY Voices Campus Governance Leaders Leadership Institute

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5 UB Office of University Governance Housed organizationally and funded within the Office of the Provost Comprised of the Faculty Senate and Professional Staff Senate Located on the President s floor in Capen Hall Uniquely autonomous among the other occupants of Capen 5

6 UB Office of University Shared Governance Embarked on an ambitious collaborative venture to position UB as a leader in #SharedGovernance In one of their first official acts, asked the senates to resolve to add the word Shared to the name of the Office of University Governance, reflecting a commitment to the core principle that shared governance is the bedrock of American higher education. In October 2015, Resolutions from both senates were supported by Provost Charles Zukoski and promulgated by President Satish Tripathi.

7 The Five Pillars of Shared Governance Shared Governance is the name commonly given to the collaborative processes by which most immediate stakeholders: faculty, staff, students, administration and councils the five pillars of shared governance express and exercise their governance authority and responsibilities in support of the institution s mission.

8 Shared Governance Litmus Test If an activity directly engaged two or more of the five pillars, it qualifies as shared governance. As each issue appeared on their collective agendas, the chairs would ask the question, Is this an issue that involves our own constituents, or can it become more impactful if we brought it to students, faculty, staff administration or council?

9 Shared Governance Litmus Test The chairs were not infrequently asked by the provost, the president and the UB Foundation, What does this have to do with the Faculty or Professional Staff? It had been nearly impossible to interface with the UB Council.

10 Shared Governance Day In the Spring of 2016 both the FS and PSS jointly declared that the first Tuesday of March be known as University at Buffalo Day of Shared Governance Renamed at the request of President Tripathi the following year to Shared Governance Day to emphasize sponsorship by the FS and PSS, not the university.

11 Build-in the buy in up-front, rather than try to hard-sell it at the end! SUNY Fredonia President Virginia Horvath at Shared Governance Day at UB, 2016

12 Collaboration REACTIV E PROACTI VE

13 Everyone at the Table The FS and PSS each amended their bylaws to include the chair of the other s senate and the leader of the student Coalition of Advocacy & Leadership (COAL) board to be ex officio non-voting members of their respective executive committees. Additionally, the FS and PSS reaffirmed that all committees of each senate were open to both professional staff, faculty and student membership.

14 Joint Initiatives Greening the Commons Breathe Free UB Shared Governance Continuing Education Series UB Campus Governance Leaders Group UB Foundation Divestment from Fossil Fuels

15 Ambitious Agendas of Each Senate: Faculty Senate Four Decanal Searches Two Decanal reviews The reorganization of the Libraries Debated the newly proposed SUNY IP, copyrights and patent policy Resolved EOC faculty members status as full voting members of the Faculty Senate New Faculty Senate Website A new emphasis on Social Media (@UBFacultySenate, #SharedGovernance) Sustainability Matters A change in the shared governance office: All art work from UB s impressive museum collections was returned and replaced with work from Faculty and Staff Develop Policies and Procedures for retired and emeritus faculty Perform a Faculty Survey by UB survey; completed for both full-time and adjunct faculty Increase/improve FS and its Executive Committee s liaison role on relevant committees and communication back to constituents regarding information obtained Resolution reconciliation; build-in the buy-in of all constituents from the beginning rather than a hard sell at the end Gender Equity in Salary Study (GESS) for full-time faculty Adopt a contemporary Freedom of Expression Statement for UB and UB Faculty (Appendix 6) Access to independent legal opinions for UB Faculty Senate

16 Ambitious Agendas of Each Senate: Professional Staff Senate Worked to codify its place at the table, representing the concerns of the professional staff in areas such as professional development, quality of work/life, defining shared values, celebrating diversity, contributing to a sustainable environment and promoting wellness enumerated and strengthened the responsibilities of the PSS in a 2016 amendment to the Constitution worked diligently to advocate for the inclusion of professional staff on senior leadership search committees and reviews Furthered its mission of promoting professional development opportunities, fostering collegiality and celebrating UB culture Potluck Picnics and Dessert Socials Annual Sustainable Living Fair New Employee Welcome Reception Workshop: Using LinkedIn as a Career Success Tool Narrated Tour of Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Educational Advisory Workshop Earth Week Celebration Luncheons Electronics and Clothing Recycling Events Annual Awards Luncheons Biannual Staff Development Conference First Biannual Inclusion and Diversity Conference

17 Administration s Outreach to the OSG At the beginning of the fiscal year, the Provost s office initiated a process involving the outgoing and incoming officers of both senates in the first-ever transparent fiscal planning for the OSG. This allowed for the opportunity to identify strategic objectives and joint initiatives. Provost called together a task force of FS, PSS and administrators in a review of the outdated UB Faculty and Staff Handbook.

18 Administration s Outreach to the OSG Chairs Glick and Licata requested that President Tripathi add the chairs of both senates to his cabinet. The president declined, but offered to invite the chairs to fall and spring semester meetings with senior leaders to have a focused discussion about shared governance issues. The chairs will also be included in senior leadership retreats. The Provost has also supported the inclusion of a senior leader (vice provosts and vice presidents) to sit on every FS committee to act as liaisons between the senate and the administration, to make resolutions easier to endorse and promulgate by the President and become UB policies.

19 Administration s Outreach to the OSG Chairs Glick and Licata have requested that the senate chairs be given seats on the UB Council (to join the governor appointed student representative) and on the Board of Directors of the UB Foundation. Both requests were denied. However, not being deterred, chairs Glick and Licata wrote UFS resolutions to have faculty and staff at all SUNY campuses to be official members with a vote on their local campus Council.

20 The Golden Rule of #SG SURPRIS ES and how we broke it.

21 No Surprises This idea was presented at a SUNY Plenary meeting: Just as governance bodies would consider it unfair for the administration to reveal decisions that have already been made without any input from faculty and staff, so too would it seem unfair for the administration to hear of senate actions without having had the opportunity to be involved or at least updated on the activity. Reinforced by President Horvath: build-in is a better strategy than buy-in.

22 No Surprises The many initiatives of the OSG and the two senates (Breathe Free, Greening the Commons, resolutions on Foundation Divestment from Fossil Fuels, Modified Duties After FMLA ) prompted Glick and Licata to begin the process of applying for the SUNY Shared Governance Award. With President Tripathi s support, a committee of faculty, staff and administrators was formed to prepare the application materials.

23 No Surprises Several days prior to the deadline for application, major events took place that had a very negative impact on the university community. These caused Glick and Licata to reflect on the wisdom of concurrent celebration of our progress with shared governance, given what was occurring. With a majority of the committee supporting the chairs recommendation to withdraw from the application process, Glick and Licata prepared a letter to President Tripathi explaining our decision and delivered it to him at a scheduled shared governance meeting without prior notice.

24 No Surprises This tactic was met with consternation and disappointment. Had we included the president and his staff in the decision-making process, we likely would have gained valuable mutual understanding through a sharing of concerns. Instead, we damaged the trust they had been striving to construct. Glick and Licata regret these events, but learned many lessons

25 Post Mortem: Lessons Learned Be mindful and celebrate the growth of the competencies of true shared governance: trust, collegiality, dialogue, mutual respect, listening, a shared sense of purpose, accountability, being mindful of diversity and inclusion. We strive to remember that some of us have had the benefit of privileges and experiences that others have not. We work to remain humble, recognizing differences while remaining open to finding common ground. We have learned the power of transparent and timely sharing of information.

26 Post Mortem: Lessons Learned Always err on the side of inclusion Readily acknowledge mistakes and shortcomings Accepting blame and seek understanding Learn from mistakes and move ever more strongly forward

27 Post Mortem: Lessons Learned Most importantly: there is no single correct way of achieving true shared governance. It involves flexibility, adjustment, and empathy. Shared Governance is a process, not an end.

28 Each of these impactful shared governance initiatives and programs would not be possible without the generous efforts of a dedicated and talented faculty and staff. We are grateful for the support of our senators and committee members who continue to push the practice of shared governance forward, within each senate, across governance bodies, and in collaboration with the administration.

29 Philip L Glick, MD MBA Domenic J Licata, EdM UB Office of University Shared Governance 543 Capen Hall Buffalo, NY