Faculty Senate

The Western Michigan University Faculty Senate is the Board of Trustees authorized seat of shared governance for faculty-involved institutional matters related to the academy. The WMU Faculty Senate is the house of faculty participation in institutional governance, with delegated authorities to bring together interested parties for effective decision-making in order to advance the mission of the University.

Vision

The WMU Faculty Senate aspires to support equitable faculty participation in institutional governance and provide valued recommendations to University stakeholders.

Mission

The WMU Faculty Senate is a partner in shared governance and formulates, reviews, and makes recommendations on policies and other matters of concern that promote excellence in teaching, research, and service.

Governance

Institutional governance engages the structures and processes involved in organizational control, planning and implementation. All legal authority over University operations resides with the WMU Board of Trustees¹ by virtue of State Constitution and law. The WMU Board of Trustees specifically delegates to the University President all authorities consistent with the position of chief executive officer¹. Additionally, the WMU Board of Trustees reserves final authority to sanction other entities by approving their founding documents¹. In recognition of the specialized training, insight and competence of faculty, the Board of Trustees has directly authorized the Faculty Senate to participate in Institutional governance as described in, Article I, Article II and Article III, sections 1 and 2 of the WMU Faculty Senate Constitution², approved by the Board of Trustees.

¹http://www.wmich.edu/trustees/bylaws
²http://www.wmich.edu/facultysenate/about/constitution

The Faculty Senate Academic-Year Meeting Calendar lists the dates, times, locations, and virtual links, for all Faculty Senate meetings.

The work of the Faculty Senate cannot be accomplished without financial assistance. Your faculty fee supports a faculty voice in many aspects of academic shared governance, as well as to help defray costs. Therefore, the Faculty Senate asks for your support in the form of a voluntary $25 faculty fee. Please click on DONATE below to make your credit card contribution. If you prefer to donate via a one-time payroll deduction please complete this online form.