It is my purpose to strengthen governance on this campus, not to weaken it. The Faculty Senate Steering Committee has told me that it feels that governance doesn't work very well. One reason my be that the councils of the Sante can't possibly do all the work on every matter assigned to them, thus leading to the need for ad hoc committees and staff assistance. If the reports of these committees deal with matters that governance deals with, I will turn the report over to the Chair of the Faculty for such action as the Chair sees fit. If a report is referred to a council, the council may accept, modify, or reject the report of the ad hoc committee.
Strategic planning is a case in point.
This year, Western began to look at its strategic planning processes in a different way. I have asked the strategic planning committee to begin the process of mission clarification. This process will include an analysis of our institutional goals, expected mix of clients, desired program mix, and our core institutional values. Our mission needs to be based on our beliefs and values. In addition, strategic planning will include, for the first time, a formal environmental scanning process.