News & Announcements
Shared Governance Committee Expands
In response to the concerns raised in the first COACHE report on faculty satisfaction, the Board of Trustees authorized the creation of the Shared Governance Committee (SGC). Initially, the SGC was comprised of three representatives from the Board of Trustees (appointed by the board chair), three administrators (appointed by the president), and three faculty (appointed by the faculty senate president.)
The SGC began its monthly meetings in February 2015 with a charge of researching best practices in governance in higher education, soliciting recommendations from stakeholders, determining practices suitable for Providence College, and making recommendations to the Board of Trustees. The committee met more than 30 times over the next three years and provided its first report to the community on October 1, 2016.
In late 2018, the SGC recommended expansion of its membership to include more faculty representation (from three to six) and representation of the Province of St. Joseph (one.) It also revised its charge to address additional concerns that emerged from the second COACHE survey – developing a communication plan to address governance issues, reviewing research on best practices with respect to work/life balance, and striving for consensus in the committee in developing recommendations to be considered by the faculty senate, the administration, and the board.
The current membership is:
- David Aldrich, Board of Trustees
- Dr. Christopher Arroyo, Professor of Philosophy
- Dr. Maia Bailey, Associate Professor of Biology
- Dr. Lynette Boos, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Faculty Senate President
- Rev. James Cuddy, O.P., Vice President for Mission and Ministry
- Kristine Goodwin, Vice President for Student Affairs
- Dr. Laurie Grupp, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs
- Rev. John Langlois, O.P., Board of Trustees
- Dr. Hugh Lena, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
- Dr. Seann Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Chemistry
- Dr. Todd Olszewski, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management
- Andre Owens, Esq., Board of Trustees
- Rev. Kenneth Sicard, O.P., Executive Vice President/Treasurer and Board of Trustees (chair)
- Dr. Liu Wang, Associate Professor of Finance
The SGC is open to suggestions and advice from all stakeholders of the College.
Publicly Engaged Scholarship Resources Available
The College has had a consortial agreement with Imagining America since November of 2017. Imagining America is a national coalition of colleges and universities and community cultural organizations whose members seek to strengthen and animate the public and civic purposes of American higher education through mutually beneficial campus-community partnerships that advance pedagogy, scholarship, and artistic practice while also addressing real-world issues.
If you are involved in campus-community partnerships or do scholarship or pedagogy around public engagement, I encourage you to tap into Imagining America resources. Our campus liaisons are Drs. Nick Longo and Nuria Alonso Garcia.
Hiring for Excellence and Diversity Process Takes Shape
Fifteen tenure-track faculty searches have been authorized for the 2019-20 recruitment cycle. In August, the Offices of Academic Affairs and the Office Institutional Diversity offered a workshop for chairs and search committees on hiring for excellence and diversity. In addition, on September 17th, Diane Goodman offered a workshop on bias in faculty searches.
The College’s search procedures require that the search committee composition and timeline are approved by the school dean, while the provost’s office approves the position advertisements. We continue to work hard to hire a diverse faculty who are excellent scholars and teachers through more proactive steps. I thank you for your cooperation in this effort and welcome suggestions as we continue to improve our search procedures.
Teacher of the Year Delivers Talk
Dr. Ted Andrews, associate professor of history and the 2018-19 Joseph R. Accinno Teaching Award Recipient, delivered the annual Conversation with the Teacher of the Year on Thursday, September 19, in the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE).
During his interactive talk, Ted and his faculty colleagues discussed several techniques that have improved their teaching. Among those were observing faculty colleagues in the classroom, enthusiasm for the subject matter, and making students partners in the learning process. These are important conversations, and I thank the CTE for hosting them. Once again, congratulations to Ted on this well-deserved honor.
