What Was Faculty Governance? How Can it Be Rebuilt?

Event Date: 

Monday, October 19, 2015 - 3:30pm to 5:00pm

Event Location: 

  • Business and Law BL1104
  • School of Education
  • University of Lincoln
  • England
  • Seminar/Workshop

Seminar via Research in Critical Education Studies

Monday 19th October 2015, 3.30-5pm. Business and Law BL1104.

This talk offers a brief history of faculty governance in the U.S. as defined over the past hundred years by the American Association of University Professors.  My premise is that the conditions of the post-war model of shared governance are gone.  At one time, growth and the passivity of outside interests enabled administrative neutralism, in which they could concentrate on teaching and research.  Administrations have in recent decades become much more active shapers of academic priorities and also control contacts between the university and external interests.  While faculty critiques of administrative overreach, the distorting effects of audit culture, etc. are vital, the paper will argue that faculty have fallen into a “depressive position” that enables negative trends. The talk is designed to foster discussion of US/UK/EU similarities and differences and desirable faculty initiatives.