Governance Task Force

The Governance Task Force is charged by the Board of Trustees to reevaluate Hampshire's decision-making processes and present recommendations to the Board. These recommendations have the potential to restructure the entire governance system of the college. The charge emphasizes transparency and shared governance.

The Task Force was created in the fall of 2009 at the recommendation of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

The Governance Task Force announced its website, https://intranet.hampshire.edu/governance.htm, in April 2010.

Final Report
In April, of 2011, the Governance Task Force completed its Final Report.

Audit Report
On April 9, 2010, the Governance Task Force completed its Audit Report.

Roundtable Discussions
The Governance Task Force is hosting several roundtable discussions with students and faculty throughout the month of April. Check the schedule for dates and locations.

Re-Rad Sit-In


On Friday, September 25, 2009, forty-six Re-Rad students and supporters rallied together and peacefully presented four requests to the committee: transparency, accountability, equal representation, and reserved power.

Governance Task Force Elections

 * See also: Governance Task Force Elections FAQ

The current makeup of the Governance Task Force is not representative of the community at large. Re-Rad followed up on its rejected request for equal representation by holding an unofficial election. Six students accepted nominations; no staff members were nominated. Thanks to the votes of 180 students, Leanna Pohevitz and Will Romey were elected to represent the student body. The news was communicated in a Letter to the Community.

The objectives of the Governance Task Force elections were to:


 * Raise awareness in the community about this issue
 * Gather thoughts and opinions
 * Make a strong statement about how the process can still be improved
 * Change the structure of the Governance Task Force to equally represent all the constituencies of the Hampshire community

During her campaign, Leanna Pohevitz handed out this flyer:

Membership
The structure of the Governance Task Force, including "its size, composition, and method of member selection," was developed through consultation with Dr. Tom Longin, senior consultant to the Association of Governing Boards. President Ralph Hexter appointed the following members:

Co-Chairs

 * Marian MacCurdy
 * Susan Tracy

Board Members

 * Shelley Carey
 * Stephan Jost
 * Laura Nasir

Faculty Members

 * Laura Sizer
 * Lee Spector
 * Jim Wald

Administrators

 * Yaniris Fernandez
 * Josiah Litant
 * Shelly Ruocco

Staff Member

 * Andrew Hart

Student Member

 * DeeDee Desir (2009-2010)
 * Christopher Thomas (2010-2011)

Student Members-Elect
Two additional students were chosen by popular vote to serve on the Governance Task Force, but have not been allowed to participate (see below):


 * Leanna Pohevitz
 * Will Romey

Their Charge
A letter from Sigmund Roos and Ralph Hexter, sent September 10th, 2009, reads:

In response to the NEASC visiting team's final reaccreditation report, which recommended a comprehensive review of campus governance, the Board of Trustees has directed the College to conduct such a review of our governance documents, policies, and practices. We are undertaking this review now since the College must report its progress on this and other areas to NEASC in its Fifth-Year Report, to be submitted in 2012. Given the significance of NEASC'S recommendation and the centrality of governance in virtually all that we do, the Board of Trustees has empowered the President to charge a task force to conduct a governance audit, to survey the community on governance issues, to study best practices, and to make governance recommendations that will be reported to the Board of Trustees for its action. Governance affects all areas of the institution and defines how we make decisions. It is imperative that we investigate which of our governance policies and processes work and which do not and create systems that affirm our best values, enable appropriate change, and support shared campus governance. The Governance Task Force will be governed by the principles of transparency and collaboration and so will offer periodic progress reports to the community and provide opportunities for community members to provide input. We will need the support of all of you as we tackle this crucial project.

We are pleased to report that Susan Tracy and Marian MacCurdy have agreed to co-chair the Task Force. Susan, as most of you know, has a long history with the College, both as a faculty member and as a school dean, and brings that rich experience to this project. Marian MacCurdy was a faculty governance leader at her prior institution and was centrally involved in a number of governance and institutional initiatives, including co-authoring that institution's reaccreditation self-study. We are also pleased to announce the other members of the Task Force, who bring a wide range of experience to the project: Board Members: Shelley Carey, Stephan Jost, and Laura Nasir Faculty Members: Laura Sizer, Lee Spector, and Jim Wald Administrators: Yaniris Fernandez, Josiah Litant, and Shelly Ruocco Staff Member: Chelvanaya Gabriel Student Member: Dee Dee Desir Available for consultation is Tom Longin, Senior Consultant to Boards and Presidents, Association of Governing Boards.

The following is an outline of the activities and schedule of the Governance Task Force:

Step 1: The Task Force will conduct a thorough audit of all governance policies, processes, and practices at all levels of campus decision making at Hampshire College. In order to do this, the Task Force will interview faculty, staff, and students to gain their perspectives on the current state of governance. This audit is to be provided to the President and the Board on or before November 16, 2009.

Step 2: After completing the audit, the Task Force will analyze which of our governance structures, policies, and practices serve the institution well and which do not. Through a series of meetings, interviews, and surveys the Task Force will solicit from the members of the campus community what they see as needed or desired changes to the existing governance system. The Task Force will also study best practices in governance from sources such as the Association of Governing Boards, AAUP, and other organizations in higher education. The Task Force will present a preliminary report of its findings to the Hampshire College community and solicit feedback before making recommendations. The Governance Process Evaluation is to be provided to the President and the Board on or before February 19, 2010.

Step 3: The Task Force will present its recommendations to the President, the Dean of the Faculty, the School Deans and the Executive Committee of the Faculty, and together discuss the findings and recommendations for improvement of governance at Hampshire College. The Task Force will take these discussions into account when it produces the final report. The findings and recommendations of the Task Force are to be provided to the President and to Board no later than April 30, 2010.

Step 4: The Task Force will provide recommendations for new governance structures, policies, and processes for Hampshire College that embrace staff, faculty, and student participation and present those recommendations to the President. The President will share the report with the Hampshire community and present it to the Board of Trustees for their action. This report will include a description of required decisions, who or what committee is responsible for making those decisions, and a list of decision-making steps, that is the order of the decision-making process. Especially important in this listing of key decisions is who provides input, who provides recommendations, and who is ultimately responsible for making each type of decision. The report will also outline any new governance structures that will facilitate the new governance process and the principles upon which those structures are based. The report will identify desired outcomes and an outline for how this work will be completed. We anticipate that the revised final report with recommendations will be presented to the President by October 1, 2010. The President will then share it with the community and present it to the Board of Trustees for consideration at its November 2010 meeting.

As the NEASC review points out, Hampshire College was founded with a strong commitment to shared governance within an organizational structure that "was radical for its time" but now "may be inadvertently thwarting the educational process rather than supporting it." We will need to decide what from our organizational history continues to serve us well and what we must revamp to meet the challenges that face us today. As you can see from this outline, the community will serve a vital role in this process. The Task Force will be asking you all to describe how we currently conduct governance business, what works, what does not, and what structures, policies, and practices would work best. Most important will be for us to articulate our key values, those that drive our work, and determine which structures, policies, and practices can best support those values. We look forward to the contributions that you all will make to this crucial project.

Minutes
So far, the Governance Task Force has had at least twelve meetings. At the second meeting, in response to a request from Re-Rad, members agreed "that a report outlining the substance of our meetings will be published prior to the next meeting when possible," claiming that this was already part of their plans. On October 9th, the Task Force officially decided not to release a report "until after the next meeting when the minutes are approved."

Despite Re-Rad's request, the "minutes" are kept private; the Task Force has consistently referred to its published records as "reports". Although they contain names (Re-Rad had only asked for anonymous minutes), they are a significantly abridged account of the Task Force's proceedings. Starting with the second meeting, they have been posted to the intranet three to four weeks afterwards.

All the reports are available in PDF form on the newly created Governance Task Force website.


 * September 25, 2009 meeting report
 * October 09, 2009 meeting report
 * October 23, 2009 meeting report
 * November 6, 2009 meeting report
 * November 19, 2009 meeting report
 * December 11, 2009 meeting report
 * December 16, 2009 meeting report
 * January 13, 2010 meeting report
 * January 19, 2010 meeting report
 * January 29, 2010 meeting report
 * February 12, 2010 meeting report

(The report of the most recent meeting has yet to be released.)

Intelligence
This space will be used to document what little information we are able to garner about what has occurred at these meetings; the meetings are officially confidential, so any members who share information with us run the risk of getting in trouble.

Apparently, at the third meeting, members were asked to look at all the official governance documents, and see what they do and don't say, and who is officially supposed to make certain decisions. The next step is to go back out to communities, and say that this is what the Task Force thinks is the structure, from what they can gather from the documents, and get feedback from the community about Hampshire's governance structures. The main documents they looked at were:


 * 1998 Hampshire College Constitution
 * Faculty Handbook
 * Trustee Bylaws

They intend to collate a long list of recommendations, similar to the Retention Task Force, and send them back out to the community for further input.