College of Fine and Performing Arts Faculty Governance Council

The Basics

The Faculty Governance Council ("FGC") is one of the main avenues of shared governance within our University, representing the faculty of the College of Fine and Performing Arts ("CFPA"). The Council is meant to ensure that faculty views are heard and considered in all significant actions related to College governance.  

The FGC reviews and makes recommendations on the policies and procedures that govern the college, including budgeting and strategic planning. The FGC is meant to facilitate an open exchange of information with the College Administration, and it strongly represents the voice of the faculty as programs and policies are formulated, implemented, and evaluated. The College Dean can be an important conduit of information for the FGC, and is a non-voting member of the Council.  Although the Dean may be a frequent part of meetings, the FGC also meets without the Dean in attendance when appropriate.

To assist in this open exchange of information, the FGC members collect feedback from the CFPA faculty and represent this feedback to the College Dean. Any faculty member can bring concerns to the FGC so that these concerns can be openly discussed. Sometimes the FGC works cooperatively with the College Dean to reach shared goals; and sometimes the FGC advocates for faculty concerns and goals which are in opposition to those of the administration.  

The FGC routinely invites guests from various constituencies in the university to keep us informed on the ever-evolving issues related to shared governance at Western.

Responsibilities

• To oversee, revise, and approve the documents that help govern the College, and ensure that these documents are in compliance with university policies found in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the Faculty Handbook, and state and federal guidelines. (Examples of these documents include the CFPA Unit Evaluation Plan, CFPA Bylaws, CFPA Professional Development Policy, Departmental UEP’s, among others.)
• To serve as a communication hub for our faculty by collecting and disseminating information on issues of shared governance that impact the faculty of the CFPA. This includes collecting feedback from the faculty on critical governance issues as well as disseminating information to ensure our faculty is fully informed about important issues that impact our College.
• To provide feedback and advice to the College Dean on important college issues such as budgeting and strategic planning.
• To hold regular meetings, approximately every other week during the academic year, and make the meeting minutes available to our university community.  
• To provide a structure to explore and take action on any important issues which concern the faculty of the College of Fine and Performing Arts.