Faculty Senate celebrates over 100 years of shared governance

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- It began, unofficially, in Schwab Auditorium on the University Park campus. 

Before the Penn State Faculty Senate was founded as a formal body more than 100 years ago, the faculty of the University – still called the Pennsylvania State College at that time – found themselves in need of the opportunity to come together and discuss the business of the institution. And so they did, with no formal name or governing documents. 

These informal “all faculty” meetings in Schwab Auditorium were the precursor to the modern Faculty Senate, the representative body of elected senators from across the Penn State’s colleges and campuses responsible for overseeing the University’s curriculum and the academic life of the University. These meetings ultimately led to the formal creation of the Penn State Faculty Senate in October 1921, with 56 official members in its first year. 

The senate underwent significant transitions to its membership and structure in the 1960s and 1970s, ultimately leading to its contemporary form that broadly and intentionally represents the University’s diverse academic disciplines and campus locations. Today, 200 faculty representatives from across Penn State make up the Faculty Senate, which meets regularly in the Kern Graduate Building at University Park throughout the academic year to discuss wide-ranging business related to Penn State’s academic mission. 

As the senate officially commemorates its centennial anniversary this year, Teaching Professor of Biobehavioral Health and Faculty Senate Chair Michele Stine said understanding and appreciating the senate’s history informs the body's ongoing commitment to its mission and to the shared governance of the University. 

“The primary function and responsibility of the Faculty Senate is curriculum, instruction and all things related to the academic mission of the University,” Stine said, noting as universities and their faculties have grown larger and more diverse throughout their histories, having a formal body for faculty to fulfill that responsibility has become increasingly important. “It is crucial we act as both stewards of the curriculum and the University’s academic mission, but also as an advisory board to the administration. We bring together that knowledge of what’s happening at all the campuses and units across the University, so we can share that information and perspective with the administration in an efficient and productive way. That is shared governance.” 

From the early days to “the new senate” 

Building off those early “all faculty” meetings, the Faculty Senate was officially codified in October 1921 by then-University President John Martin Thomas, who led the institution between 1921 and 1925.  

“Looking at those 56 members of the original senate, more than 11 of them have buildings named after them at University Park, names that most people at University Park would recognize,” said Roger Egolf, associate professor of chemistry and Faculty Senate historian. Among those names are William Frear, namesake of the North and South Frear Buildings; Robert Sackett, namesake of the Sackett Building; and Joseph Willard, namesake of the Willard Building. 

The formalization of Penn State’s Faculty Senate occurred at roughly the same time as the founding of similar bodies at other universities, including many of Penn State’s contemporary Big Ten peers. Egolf said universities began establishing these bodies as college education became more widely accessible to more people, leading to the increased growth of institutions of higher education. As the faculty of an institution grew larger, it became increasingly difficult to schedule and run informal meetings that were open to all faculty members, thus leading to the creation of formalized faculty governance organizations meant to represent all faculty. 

In the early days of Penn State’s official Faculty Senate, membership was by appointment rather than election. In 1966 under then-President Eric Walker, the senate officially became a body predominately composed of elected faculty members, which Egolf called “the start of the new senate.” This move toward a more broadly representative structure was continued in 1971 with the addition of elected faculty senators from all Commonwealth Campuses, and was further codified with a new constitution in 1975, which opened the senate’s committee membership to senators from all campus locations. 

Egolf said these structural updates throughout the senate’s history are part of a deliberate effort to represent all faculty in an inclusive and democratic way, in order to best serve the University and fulfill the senate’s commitment to shared governance. 

From the past, into the future 

As part of the senate’s stewardship of the University’s curriculum, the organization has played a central role in developing numerous policies that impact the day-to-day life of Penn State’s current students and faculty.  

One example is the implementation of the letter grade system in the 1950s, before which students were graded on a scale of -3 to +3. The senate also helped create the University’s modern academic and attendance policies, and historically was an important body in rescinding requirements like compulsory chapel attendance that had been established earlier in the University’s history. 

Helping develop the University’s updated policy defining title, ranks and promotion pathways for fixed-term faculty is another, more recent example of the senate’s wide-reaching impact on the University. That policy, developed in close collaboration with stakeholders across the University, was officially enacted in 2018 and led to Penn State being recognized with the Delphi Award from the Pullias Center for Higher Education for the University’s commitment to supporting its adjunct faculty members. 

Stine said the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenging experience for many across the University, including the Faculty Senate, which worked diligently to update its policies to account for the shift to remote instruction necessitated by the onset of the pandemic during the fall 2020 semester. In addition to implementing a temporary pass-fail grading system in recognition of the pandemic’s impact on students, Stine said the senate is working to codify the pandemic’s learnings into policy to help create an institution that can be nimble and responsive to unexpected circumstances. 

As the senate looks to the future, Stine said environmental sustainability and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are key strategic priorities. In recent years, the senate added sustainability to the charges of each of its standing committees and is undertaking the same process with DEI, with the goal of helping each committee think through how it can help tangibly advance these important areas. 

“Throughout its history, the Faculty Senate has played an important role in the shared governance of Penn State, advising on many significant issues,” said President Neeli Bendapudi. “I look forward to continuing to collaborate with the senate to help Penn State achieve its academic, research and land-grant missions.” 

Stine identified partnering with the University’s new leadership as one of her key goals for the senate as she looks toward the future, with an eye for supporting Penn State’s strategic priorities and continuing to help Penn State prepare its students to make a difference in an evolving world. 

“We are starting a new chapter at Penn State, with a new president and provost, and we are in a changing educational environment both across Pennsylvania and around the globe,” Stine said. “Shared governance is more important than ever before. That close interaction among the faculty, administration, students and staff is mission-critical to helping Penn State remain nimble, provide a world-class education to our students, and conduct impactful outreach across Pennsylvania, the nation and the world. I look forward to working with the new administration and my colleagues in the senate to advance these important goals.”