Fidler said. If we're going to have a good conversation about shared governance we need to be able to include all of the campuses and having a blog makes that a lot easier.
The new executive vice president and provost has launched a Web site to foster a campus-wide dialogue about shared governance.
Pam Benoit, who came to Ohio University this summer as provost after a year when shared governance was a buzzword on campus, was determined to involve students, faculty and staff in a discussion about the topic, said Ann Fidler, interim associate provost for strategic initiatives.
The blog, www.ohioevpp.wordpress.com, is co-sponsored by Faculty Senate's Executive Committee.
[Benoit] knows that shared governance is an important issue and wanted to find a convenient and substantive way to have a conversation Fidler said. If we're going to have a good conversation about shared governance we need to be able to include all of the campuses and having a blog makes that a lot easier.
In an e-mail to the university community announcing the launch, Benoit explained the six-step process she hopes to use to have this conversation, beginning with the blog and including a campus-wide survey on the meaning of shared governance to be analyzed and formed into a concept paper and recommendations by the end of the year.
It would be fair to ask why go through a lengthy process? Share the governance of the university and be done with it
Benoit wrote. The problem with such a modus operandi is that in my discussions with members of the campus community it is clear that there isn't a consensus on what shared governance should be at this institution. Before we can share
we need to know what we are sharing.
Benoit's comment echoes findings from a series by The Post in January in which the newspaper received 22 distinct definitions of shared governance from 26 sources.
Fidler, who will be moderating discussion on the blog, said she hopes it will generate comments and build interest in the issue. Comments will be instantly posted to the site, but Fidler said she will remove any posts that don't keep with the spirit of the site.
Although Fidler will be posting as often as she can on behalf of the provost's office, she added Benoit is also committed to contributing directly to the blog.
eg349206@ohiou.edu
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Emily Grannis
