UB will hold its second annual Shared Governance Day on March 7 with a joint meeting of the Faculty Senate and the Professional Staff Senate.

The meeting, which is open to all members of the UB community, will take place at 3 p.m. in the Center for Tomorrow, North Campus. Attendees will include SUNY Fredonia President Virginia Horvath, SUNY University Faculty Senate Parliamentarian Sharon Cramer and University Faculty Senate President Peter Knuepfer.

Horvath, Cramer and Knuepfer will speak at the meeting and take part in a panel discussion and Q&A on shared governance along with UB Provost Charles F. Zukoski, PSS Chair Domenic J. Licata, Faculty Senate Chair Philip Glick and representatives of a number of UB governance bodies, including Matt Rivera, president of the undergraduate Student Association; James Corra, student representative to the UB Council; Tanja Aho, president of the Graduate Student Association; and Connor Arquette, president of the Jacobs School of Medicine Polity.

Prior to the senate meeting, Horvath will take part in a special meeting of the UB Campus Governance Leaders (CGL) group, comprised of leaders from constituent groups across the UB community, including UUP, CSEA, PEF, PBA, RF, GSA and SA, who meet regularly to discuss governance issues and shared concerns.

UB’s inaugural Shared Governance Day took place last year after the Faculty Senate and PSS approved a resolution changing the name of the Faculty Senate and Professional Staff Senate offices to the Office of University Shared Governance.

“The change signifies that in regards to each other and with the other members of UB shared governance, the senates will inculcate of the values of trust, collegiality, dialogue, sharing perspectives, listening, shared sense of purpose, recognizing differences while remaining open to finding common ground and transparency of information,” Licata says.

The senates also declared that the first Tuesday of March be known as “Shared Governance Day” at UB and that it be observed together by the five pillars of shared governance — faculty, staff, students, administration and councils — as well as UB’s alumni associations — through a series of informative, collegial and celebratory events.

The Faculty Senate and the Professional Staff Senate are making significant efforts toward meaningful representation of their constituents and their roles in shared governance, Licata notes, citing the definition of shared governance, as outlined in the SUNY Governance Handbook, as the “structures and processes through which faculty, professional staff, administration, governing boards and students participate in the development of policies and in decision-making that affect the institution.”

“Policy is not something that just happens,” he stresses, “but rather should involve those with specific areas of experience and expertise who are directly impacted.”

Shared governance in the SUNY system is supported by Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, who spoke at last year’s Shared Governance Day at UB via videoconference.