Shared governance is one of the most challenging issues at many seminaries and theological colleges. And it works differently at freestanding seminaries and embedded divinity schools. If shared governance continues to be a challenge at your school, you may want to consider some of these resources:
- A significant study by the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) was issued in 2009: “Faculty, Governing Boards, and Institutional Governance.” The full text is available here.
- An article in the March/April 2014 issue of Trusteeship: “How to Make Shared Governance Work: Some Best Practices.” The full text is available here. The article’s author has also written a longer book on shared governance — recommended highly by our colleagues at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary: Shared Governance in Times of Change: A Practical Guide for Universities and Colleges. It’s available for purchase here.
- In 2009, a whole issue of Theological Education was dedicated to the faculty’s role in governance. Included in the issue are articles titled “Governance: What Is It?,” “Faculty Powers in Shared Governance,” and “More Than Simply Getting Along,” along with field reports from a half-dozen theological schools. Read the full text here.
- For schools accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, governance is explained in Standard 7 of the General Institutional Standards. Standard 7 begins on page 19 of this document.
- The New Year 2015 issue of In Trust included two articles about shared governance: “Defining Shared Governance” and “Our Goal: To Clarify ‘Shared Governance’ by the Next Board Meeting.” Both are online here. People affiliated with In Trust Center member institutions can read the full text of both articles by logging in.
Do you have any excellent resources on shared governance to share? Let us know in the comments.
