A Report on the Remaking of Hampshire Governance (1974)

A Report on the Remaking of Hampshire Governance was published on August 26, 1974.

Summary of Report
The Governance Review Committee, established by the College Council and elected by and from the community, spent the summer recess examining the structure, philosophy, and operation of the Hampshire College governance system.

We investigated the origins of the Hampshire governance system in the social currents of the late 1960's. We examined the structure of governance and identified the different organizational models existing within the system (i.e., business management, intentional community, constitutional democracy, and traditional academic models). A study of specific cases, offices, and councils followed this overview, and led to the development of our own models, specific recommendations, and the drafting of this final report.

We recommend:

1. That Hampshire's governance system be based on the principles of communication, accountability, clarity, delegation, participation, organization, and collaboration. 2. That strong staff, student, faculty and administrative constituencies be encouraged as a sound base for effective governance. 3. That the structure of College governance be divided into three sectors: Academic, Community, and Business, for efficient and responsive administration and for the greatest participation in setting the policies and priorities of the College. 4. That there be an Academic Council one-fourth the size of the present Council, composed of faculty and student representatives. 5. That every person in this community be affiliated with one of the residence Houses or the sixth House for off-campus students, and that the Community Council be elected from the Houses. 6. That there be a management group for the Business sector. 7. That the Councils and the management group should be responsible for making policy and setting priorities for their respective sectors, working in close conjunction with the administrative heads. 8. That both the Community and Academic sectors be headed by Deans elected by the respective Councils for renewable two year terms, and that the Treasurer be the chief officer of the Business sector.\ 9. That the Office of the President and Vice-President remain the central point for making broad decisions in the life of the College, for external relations, and for the coordination of information. 10. That an Ombudsman be established to resolve conflict, without the power to enforce solutions, and to communicate her/his analysis of problems to the appropriate persons or agencies. 11. That cases which are not otherwise resolved be decided by a Judicial Board. 12. That procedures be adopted so that policy changes take effect automatically if those charged with authority to review them do not act within a reasonable time. 13. That arrangements be made so that governance can operate even when the College is not in session. 14. That a Governance Communications Center be established to maintain the records of governance agencies and to provide ready access to information about about the governance system and its activities. 15. That the role in College governance of the Board of Trustees, including student and faculty representatives, be clarified and strengthened.

It is the hope of the Governance Review Committee that this report will be the basis for college-wide discussion and involvement in the task of remaking the governance of the College. (p. ii-iv)