SENATE MEMORIAL 96

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Timothy M. Keller

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE SECRETARY OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO NAME A WORKING GROUP TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING PRINCIPLES OF SHARED GOVERNANCE IN NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITIES.

     WHEREAS, traditionally, colleges and universities in the United States have relied on a shared governance model of organization, which allows faculty and staff to participate in the formulation of academic missions and policies and in the decision-making process of the institution; and

     WHEREAS, in the last decade, there has been a movement toward a corporate governance model that is based on running institutions of higher education like businesses; and

     WHEREAS, the corporate governance model views the educational mission as just one aspect of the multi-faceted business in which the institution is engaged, including sports, entertainment, housing, health care and private corporate research and development; and

     WHEREAS, proponents of the corporate governance model believe that university administrations must be able to act swiftly in the face of changing circumstances and that administrators must not be impeded in their ability to maintain a competitive edge in today's difficult environment; and

     WHEREAS, proponents of the shared governance model believe that the academic mission must be paramount and that shared governance provides a necessary check and balance on the power of administrators and politically appointed governing boards; and

     WHEREAS, as noted in a university of California report on the subject of shared governance, "without mutual participation in decision making, the faculty and the administration would stand apart on opposite sides of a table unproductively complaining" about each other instead of facing together the challenges of the times;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary of higher education be requested to name a working group made up of representatives from faculty, administration and boards of regents of the state's research and comprehensive universities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be composed of an even number, one-half of whom are faculty, one-fourth of whom are university presidents or high-level administrators and one-fourth of whom are regents; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group study higher education organization models, particularly as they relate to state-funded universities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the group be requested to consider principles of shared governance and other best practices for university governance that could be adopted by all of the state universities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group report its findings and recommendations to the governor, the higher education department and the appropriate interim legislative committees; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the New Mexico legislative council and the higher education department for appropriate distribution.

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