In effect, they create a system of shadow governance, and faculty find themselves unwitting or unwilling collaborators. The effect of shadow governance, however, is the disenfranchisement of the faculty. Shadow governance can take many forms, but the most common vehicles are advisory councils, task forces, and ad hoc committees. Of these, the advisory council seems the most benign. An administrator assembles an informal body of campus leaders faculty, students, staff, and senior administrators and meets with them periodically to gain a sense of the campus climate and to test reactions to proposed initiatives.
Advisory councils create serious problems.
Sometimes that fear becomes justified, and the voice of the few effectively replaces sounder forms of representativeness. The task force is the darling of the new, high-powered administrator. Task force members are usually not elected by their colleagues, but appointed for some special expertise. Even the most scrupulous faculty member, swept away by the enthusiasm of the task force, may fail to make regular progress reports to faculty colleagues. Of course, effective communication is often impeded by the fact that task forces seem to have an uncanny need to carry on their deliberations during the summer, when the campus community is dispersed.