University Governance
American University is a corporation established by a Special Act of the Congress of the United States in 1893. According to the university’s Bylaws, “the purpose of the Corporation is to establish and maintain in the District of Columbia a University to promote eduation, with the power to confer earned academic degrees and certificates and honorary degrees.” Corporation business is conducted by a Board of Trustees.
The board has responsibility for the following: “(a) elects the President of the University and approves the appointment of the Provost, Vice Presidents, and Secretary; (b) establishes University policies, which are to be executed by the President; (c) assists, guides and evaluates the progress of the University and receives reports from the President on this progress; (d) elects Board members and officers; (e) approves full-time and tenured faculty appointments recommended by the President; (f) confers degrees; (g) appoints committees it deems necessary; (h) assists in raising funds to support the University; and (i) preserves and protects University operations and properties.”
In order to provide meaningful and active participation by the university community while maintaining the board’s objectivity and perspective, the board includes and engages student and faculty participation on appropriate standing committees. Representatives appointed by and from the Faculty Senate, the Student Government, the Graduate Leadership Council, the Student Bar Association, the Staff Council, and the Alumni Association serve as resource persons distributed among the following board committees and subcommittees: Academic Affairs, Alumni Affairs and Development, Audit, Campus Life, Finance and Investment, and Trusteeship committees, as well as the Athletics and International Affairs subcommittees.
In addition to attending meetings of the board’s standing committees, the chairs of the Faculty Senate and the Staff Council, and the presidents of the Student Government, Graduate Leadership Council, Student Bar Association, and Alumni Association attending meetings of the full board also as advisory resource persons.
In Fall 2006, the board increased its membership by adding two new faculty trustees (chair of the Faculty Senate immediate past chair of the Faculty Senate). At its winter 2007 meeting, the board will formally approve a new student trustee. The appointment of all trustees is subject to the approval by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church.
American University was established under the auspices of what is now known as The United Methodist Church (UMC). The board is self-perpetuating. The Act of Incorporation chartering American University in 1893 provided that at least two-thirds of the members of the board of trustees be members of the UMC. Over time, AU’s relationship to the UMC changed. In 1990, an amendment to the Act of Incorporation eliminated the requirement that three-fifths of the trustees be Methodists and replaced it with a more general requirement that stated, “…their associates and successors, including individuals who are members of the United Methodist Church, including (subject to their acceptance) the Bishop of the Washington Episcopal Area and [the] General Secretary of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church…”
The 1951 amendment to the Act of Incorporation not only reduced the proportion of Methodists on the board but also clarified the relationship between AU and the UMC, requiring (1) that all persons elected to the university’s board of trustees be approved by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church (GBHEM) and (2) that all proposed amendments to AU’s Act of Incorporation be first approved by the GBHEM. The third condition stated, “all property, both real and personal, of the corporation shall be held in perpetuity for educational purposes under the auspices of the Methodist Church and subject to the terms and provisions of the Discipline of the Methodist Church [the curch’s book of laws].”
The University Senate, established by the UMC in 1892, reviews AU and other UMC-related higher education institutions, although regional accrediting bodies such as the Middle States Commission on Higher Education perform an external assessment of the university. The University Senate reviews “the way in which an institution is in fact related to the Church”. By meeting the criteria the senate has developed, AU continues to retain its listing as an UMC-related school.
The role of faculty governance at American University has undergone a dramatic transition. In fall 2001, as part of his 15-point strategic plan, the former president called for “a new model of governance…to provide a more flexible, consultative, and efficient system of decision making.” In October 2002 the first meeting of the Faculty Senate was held and new leadership organized; new leaders assumed their roles in January 2003. The Faculty Senate consists of 23 members, has six standing committees, and four advisory or special committees. It serves as the authoritative voice of the entire faculty on matters pertaining to the academic mission and strategy of the university.
University Council
Established in response to the 15-point plan, the University Council serves as a university-wide advisory group on university issues for the president. The council has 12 members: four faculty, four staff, and four students. Five members are ex officio members by virtue of their elected positions: the chair of the Faculty Senate, the president of the Student Bar Association, the chair of the Graduate Leadership Council, the president of the Student Government, and the chair of the Staff Council. The other seven members of the council are appointed by the president on recommendation from the President’s Cabinet and others.
The undergraduate student body is represented by the Student Government, a university-wide student government association. The organization promotes the common welfare of the students, which it does through sponsoring programs and services and activing as the voice of the undergraduate student body. All organizations, clubs, and councils affiliated with the Student Government function in accordance with their individual governing instruments, the Student Government bylaws, and the Student Government constitution, and are eligible for Student Government funding. The Student Government is made up of three branches: the General Assembly (legislative), the Executive Cabinet (executive), and the Constitutional and Procedural Review Board (judicial). AU’s Student Government was previously known as the Student Confederation.
To address the needs and concerns of the university’s graduate students, individual school and college graduate councils and a Graduate Leadership Council (GLC) was established, replacing the Graduate Student Association (GSA) in January 2003. The GLC’s purpose is to establish a unified representative voice, influencing the university’s decision-making process, promoting academic excellence; improving the overall academic and social experience for the university community and, in particular, for the graduate and professional students, and facilitating communication among graduate and undergraduate students at the university. The Graduate Leadership Council is administered and represented by an executive chairperson and an executive vice chairperson, and dictates the official position of the graduate population on university policy.
The Student Bar Association (SBA) provides the students of the Washington College of Law with a broad range of information, programming, representation and services in order to enhance the quality of student life and the overall environment in which WCL students learn the law. Led by the president & vice president, the SBA oversees sixty student organizations and serves as the voice for approximately 1,500 WCL students.
The Staff Council’s mission is to serve the interests and needs of the staff pertaining to their daily activities and work conditions as they strive to support the university’s goal of high-quality education. The Staff Council promotes understanding and cooperation by facilitating communication among campus constituencies and by serving as an advocate for staff issues and representing approximately 1,220 full-time staff and nearly 500 part-time full-time equivalents. Staff members, along with faculty and students, serve on cross-divisional project teams in order to support effective flow of information and enhance decision making.
(For more information, see the American University Self-Study, prepared for the Middle States Association Commission on Higher Education and the AU Community, December 2003)
