Academic Senate At UCSF

“What is the Senate at UCSF?”

The Academic Senate is vital to the system of shared governance at both UC San Francisco and the University of California system. On every campus or ‘Division’, the Senate has committees. A lot of them. Why? Faculty are busy, and their concerns often interfere with their ability to address the missions of UC and UCSF in regards to teaching, clinical care, and research. The Academic Senate shepherds these faculty concerns from the front line to the administration and back. In other words, through shared governance faculty play a role in guiding how the University is managed.

There is an independent Academic Senate office on each UC campus and at the systemwide level at the UC Office of the President (UCOP) in Oakland.

Joseph Health, a Catholic healthcare organization. As a Catholic healthcare organization, SRMH adheres to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs), which holds to different healthcare governing practices than UCSF. Faculty voiced concern that a collaboration could restrict the quality and range of clinical services provided, and thus requested the Academic Senate’s review of the issue.

The appointed Task Force’s review found that the affiliation would expand UCSF’s service area into Santa Rosa and the administration’s quick decision to collaborate was largely because if UCSF did not expand the affiliation with Santa Rosa, a different healthcare organization would. Furthermore, while the two companies had different governing structures, they aligned on some core values, such as caring for those in impoverished conditions.

The Task Force’s review also found that in the future, changes in any affiliation needed to be better communicated to faculty through the Academic Senate prior to making final decisions. This serves as a prime example of how the administration and the campus can work together to utilize the Academic Senate’s shared governance aspect and make changes within their

The Standing Committees include: Academic Freedom, Academic Personnel, Academic Planning & Budget, Clinical Affairs, Committee on Committees, Courses of Instruction, Educational Policy, Equal Opportunity, Executive Council, Faculty Welfare, Graduate Council, Library & Scholarly Communication, Privilege and Tenure, Research, Rules & Jurisdiction, and Space.

Faculty members must hold a 50% appointment to serve on Senate committees or councils, although a faculty member at any rank or percent time can bring matters to the attention of the Senate and request a review. All five faculty series are eligible to serve on any committee.

Most committees meet monthly and a UCSF Division Meeting, covering key issues, take place twice a year. At meetings, committees hear presentations from groups on campus, and take actions through legislative voting. Majority of meetings follow parliamentary rules of order, using the Alice Sturgis model from “Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure.” Parliamentary procedures are founded upon a rule of the majority, while still respecting the opinions of the