The Faculty Senate is the duly elected body of representatives of the faculty of Drexel University.  Members of the Senate are elected  by the faculty of  the academic units.  Much of the work of the Senate is accomplished by the seven Standing Committees of the Senate (Academic Affairs; Faculty Affairs; Budget, Planning & Development; Academic Support; Student Life; Research & Scholarly Activity, and Nominations).  The committees frequently meet with representatives from the administration to be an effective voice of the faculty. These committees work to develop and analyze university policy for which they can commission and request reports.  Based on these reports, they make recommendations to the Senate as whole and as such provide the vehicle for faculty shared stewardship of Drexel University.

Ways to be engaged

Faculty governance and shared stewardship can only be effective when the faculty as a whole is involved.  Knowing your representatives on the various standing committees and on the Senate is  the first step.  Your elected representatives can bring information from their academic units to the attention of the committees and the Senate.  At the same time, the representatives can also bring information back to the academic units for sharing and discussions.  The most effective way for sharing information is for the representatives to take time during college/school assemblies to update their colleagues.  The more faculty engages their representatives the more we can ensure that everyone’s voice is heard.

Ways to learn about issues and offer direct feedback

Besides working with your representatives, the Senate’s website now will provide regular updates from the Standing Committees under their label on this site.  This is where you can find information regarding a particular area of interest.  In addition, the Senate and the Steering Committee of the Senate will post agendas one week prior to their meeting, and will post their minutes within a few days following their meeting.  Finally, the Senate has created a blog (insert link here).  The blog will take the function of direct communication between Senate and the faculty.  The Senate will post information about issues affecting the university and invite feedback.  The blog is moderated by Dr. Dave Goldberg, who does not serve on the Senate.  Get involved.

Know your representatives, check back often on the Senate web-site, and provide feedback through our blog or by emailing us (senate@drexel.edu).  We look forward to hearing from you!