Governance Task Force/minutes 100129


 * Posted to the intranet on Friday, February 19, 2010 by Abby Ferguson

Governance Task Force Report January 29, 2010 Hampshire College

Present: Yaniris Fernandez, Marian MacCurdy (co-chair), Andrew Hart, Susan Tracy (co-chair), Josiah Litant, Laura Sizer, Lee Spector, Stephan Jost, Jim Wald, Dee Dee Desir. Guest: President Ralph J. Hexter

Excused: Shelley Carey, Shelly Ruocco

Proceedings:

I. The meeting was called to order at 12:16 p.m.

II. Co-chair MacCurdy handed out the draft minutes of the January 13 and January 19 meetings to be approved after our conversation with President Hexter today.

III. President Hexter reviewed the audit report and thanked the task force for its hard work, commenting on the complexity of the charge itself and the enormous detail that must be captured. He had some difficulty in understanding the nuances of the matrix code because of its level of detail, but found it useful. President Hexter suggested a couple of areas where information may missing in the report, and he highlighted areas of governance that HC is lacking, such as faculty grievance procedures to cover non-reappointment issues.

A general discussion of governance issues and challenges ensued. President Hexter then raised a series of questions to guide future discussions.

IV. Phase II of the TF charge was reviewed. Subcommittee procedures were considered with particular attention paid to how the overall HC community can actively participate in the process. One suggestion is to include in the cover letter to the community (that will accompany the audit) a list of many of the issues that the TF uncovered in the audit because this resulted from our work with the documents and current practice. We may also wish to pose the question broadly in Phase II about which areas of governance identified in the audit need improvement and could be improved. It will be important to ask the community what they want and need and to listen carefully to what they say; that is, what problems do they have getting things done and what would help them?

President Hexter raised the point that the governance review and the subsequent implementation process will be slow and the changes will evolve over time, in stages. The president reminded the group that the sooner the audit can be checked and sent out to the community at large, the sooner the conversations can get underway.

TF members discussed the audit and what the review reveals with regard to the overall effectiveness of governance structures and practices within the HC community, especially areas where governance needs to be improved. TF members acknowledged that the current system of governance is more effective in blocking change than in implementing it. The student experience was discussed by the TF. The TF discussed overall communication strategies.

V. President Hexter left the meeting at 1:53 p.m.

VI. The minutes of January 13 and January 19 were approved by consensus.

VII. A draft of proposed operating procedures was discussed. It was agreed that the operating procedures for how to move forward in Phase II will be discussed in further detail at the next meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:11 p.m.

The next meeting of the Governance Task Force will be on Friday, February 12 from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. in the Bradford College Room.