Fredonia Campus Receives First SUNY Shared Governance Award
April 24, 2014
Albany – State University of New York Board of Trustees Chairman H. Carl McCall and Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher this week presented SUNY Fredonia with the system’s first Shared Governance Award, which will be conferred annually to one campus in recognition of advancing shared governance throughout SUNY.
The award was presented at the SUNY Voices Conference on Shared Governance, which brought together faculty, students, administrators, trustees, and council members from campuses across the state to discuss how systems of shared governance can work toward achieving sustainable and innovative colleges and universities. Participants explored traditional and emerging models of shared governance and how they can be used to best meet the needs of SUNY’s institutions, faculty, staff, and students, as well as New York’s communities.
“This award underscores SUNY’s commitment to academic excellence and public good through collaborative models of governance,” said Chairman McCall. “Congratulations to SUNY Fredonia on receiving our first recognition, and thank you to all of the campuses who participated in this week’s conference in order to advance shared governance practices across SUNY.”
“Shared governance is critical to the effectiveness of systems of higher education like SUNY, ensuring that all of our stakeholders – from students and faculty to community representatives and elected officials – have a voice at the leadership table and are committed to working together,” said Chancellor Zimpher. “SUNY Fredonia serves as an excellent model not just for SUNY colleges and universities but for those nationally.”
Criteria for the SUNY Shared Governance Award includes effective engagement of campus administrations and trustees with students, faculty, staff, as well as members of the community and elected officials on issues and policies that impact SUNY. Engagement can include shared and timely decision making, shared accountability, collaborative dialogue, and open communication.
Shared governance in higher education refers to the structures and processes through which administration, faculty, professional staff, governing boards, and students participate in the development of policies and in decisions that affect the whole institution. Carried out effectively, shared governance serves as the foundation for a sustainable system of higher education that is operating at its highest potential in service to each of these groups as well as its other stakeholders in government, businesses, and communities.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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