Wright State Campus | Photo by Soham Parikh | The Wright State Guardian
The nomination period for Wright State University (WSU) Faculty Senate is set to begin on Monday, Feb. 8 with approximately half of the seats up for re-election.
What is the faculty senate
The Faculty Senate currently houses 28 senators, a parliamentarian, vice president and president.
The number of senate seats for each constituency is determined by the number of faculty members in that particular college. For every 30 members of faculty in each college, there is one senate seat available.
Currently, the College of Liberal Arts (CoLA) holds the largest number of senators with six, and the School of Professional Psychology holds the lowest number with just one senator.
Senators must be fully-affiliated members of the university faculty and should hold the rank of university professor, professor, associate professor, assistant professor, senior lecturer, lecturer, instructor or clinical assistant professor.
Per the Faculty Senate Constitution, senators are elected for two-year terms with approximately one-half of the representatives in each constituency being elected each year.
“This is so that everyone in the Senate doesn’t leave at the same time,” Faculty President Dr. Laura Leuhrmann said. “Sometimes you might see a senator only serve one year due to someone accepting an administrative position or retiring during their service as Senator, but it’s safe to say that approximately half of the Senate will be up for re-election each year.”
Leuhrmann also said that in April of this year, she will be stepping down as faculty president, leaving a vacancy to be filled in that position as well.
“Much of my decision to step down is based on my feelings that there needs to be circulation of positions in terms of perspective, however I also have a book contract that is due in December,” Leuhrmann said. “I know full and well the time serving as faculty president takes and when I signed my book contract, I promised the publisher I would meet my deadline. This requires me to step down.”
Leuhrmann said that without a doubt being involved in the Faculty Senate has been her favorite service at the university.
“Serving in the Faculty Senate puts you in touch with many of the people around campus who are so passionate about their students, teaching, research and the university as a whole. I’ve met some of the best people at Wright State through my engagement in the Faculty Senate,” Leuhrmann said. “I have been afforded the opportunity to not only call these people colleagues, but friends.”
Importance of the Senate
As with any institution scaling the size of a university, it’s crucial to have a meeting body composed of members from each constituency that debate and discuss the proceedings that affect those within each constituency.
Leuhrmann says that the importance of the Faculty Senate lies in the representation and ideas that are presented from different perspectives of those who inhabit the university.
“We have a central structure that helps facilitate these conversations, and when a decision is made it’s not just the decision of one person or a small group of people,” Leuhrmann said. “Things may not always be unanimous, but it will be the sense of the body saying this is what we need to do in order to respond to this curricular need or whatever the case may be.”
Faculty Senator Dr. Megan Faragher said that being a representative of the Lake Campus in Faculty Senate meetings is something that she feels proud to be a part of.
“If you’re going to be a part of an institution, you owe it to the institution to do what you can to improve it and make it better for those who come after you,” Faragher said. “I’m always invested in thinking about how we can improve the curriculum for the students and future of the university as faculty members.”
WSU Senior Lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literatures and Faculty Senator Sarah McGinley said that advocating for each college and hearing different perspectives from other colleges as well is critical for the growth of the university.
“When I first became a Senator, I was somewhat intimidated by the proceedings and how much institutional knowledge was on display,” McGinley said. “Over time I got over that and I realize that I am not in that meeting as an individual, but rather a representative of my college. It’s up to me and my CoLA colleagues to speak up, ask awkward questions as needed and press for answers.”
The Faculty Senate Constitution, future meeting dates and list of current Senators may be found here.
