After years of debate and discussion, the Board of Visitors approved a resolution that will allow a faculty representative to sit on three of its committees.
According to University rector Thomas F. Farrell, II, the Board will invite the former chair of the Faculty Senate to join two standing committees and one special committee as a non-voting member.
"They are not allowed to have voting rights by statute, but in all other ways they will be full participants," he said.
As the most recent past chair of the Faculty Senate, architecture Prof. Kenneth Schwartz will serve as the first faculty representative.
Though Faculty Senate chairs and chair-elects have been able to sit in on the Board's meetings in the past, the new policy will allow them to play a more active role, Schwartz said.
"The intention is to make sure that the faculty voice weighs in on important issues for each committee," Schwartz said. "We [Faculty Senate members] make sure we're familiar with the issues going on with the Board of Visitors."
The Board's decision to create a position for a faculty representative comes after years of debate over how to incorporate the view of faculty members into the Board's decisions. A bill failed several times in the General Assembly that would have required all state-funded schools to have a non-voting faculty member on their boards of visitors.
In response to such proposals, many University officials and Board members said they believed the Board already had sufficient means of communication with the faculty through the president, provost and chair of the Faculty Senate. Others voiced concerns such as the potential for a conflict of interest if a full faculty position was created since the Board makes decisions pertaining to faculty salaries and tenure. Still, numerous individuals, including many from the University faculty, expressed concern that the voices of faculty members were not being heard at the table where key decisions are made.
Farrell said the Board has been "considering a more formal role for faculty in the overall governance of the University" for a number of years.
After deciding to include a non-voting faculty member, the Board determined the Educational Policy Committee, theExternal Affairs Committee and the Special Committee on Diversity seemed the best places for direct faculty input.
As a member of these committees, the past chair will be involved in the discussion of academic affairs and aspects such as the Capital Campaign and the hiring of a more diverse faculty, Farrell said.
"They can help us enhance the academic mission [of the University] in the short and long term," he said.
Schwartz explained even without a vote, the inclusion of a faculty member will foster better dialogue within the University community.
"I think it will help to reinforce the Board's concern for faculty perspectives on these issues," Schwartz said. "I ... draw an analogy to the student member who plays a very important role with the Board."
Carey Mignerey, the student member of the Board who also holds a non-voting role, said he believes that a non-voting Board member has the potential to be extremely influential.
"The Board works largely through consensus, so whether a member has a vote or not does not determine whether they have an impact on the results," Mignerey said.
In a University press release, current Faculty Senate Chair Ricardo Padron expressed optimism at the prospect of faculty representation on the Board, though he noted that there was still room for improvement.
"Although the Faculty Senate will continue to advocate for full representation on the Board of Visitors itself sometime in the future, it also welcomes this development as a significant enhancement in the role that faculty play in the governance of U.Va," he stated.
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