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 it 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 New 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 $20 faculty fee. Please click on DONATE below to make your credit card contribution. If you prefer to donate via payroll deduction please follow these instructions.
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The next Faculty Senate meeting will be held April 6, 2023 at 5 p.m. in-person at the Bernhard Center, rooms 208/209. To view a live stream on Mediasite visit:
Senate Snapshot
Issue 29 - Faculty Senate Meetings
Issue 30 - Mental Health Forum
Issue 31 - Faculty Senate May 12 2022 HyFlex Meeting
Issue 32 - Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Search
Issue 33 - Faculty Senate Oct. 6 2022 Meeting
Issue 34 - Provost Search
Issue 34.2 - Provost Search Campus Visits
Issue 35 - Faculty Senate Nov. 3 Meeting
Issue 36 - WMU Essential Studies Data Spotlight
Issue 37 - Faculty Senate Dec. 1 Meeting
Issue 38 - Faculty Senate Update
Issue 39 - Faculty Senate Feb. 2 Meeting
Issue 40 - Faculty Senate March 2 Meeting
Senate Snapshot Archives