Harvard faculties voted in favour of delegates' selection to design faculty senate

The faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University has also supported the faculty's demand for creating the faculty senate so that professors can also participate in the decision-making process of the university.

Study in US: While a group of professors at Harvard University has been advocating for a faculty senate since April, now three Harvard faculties including the Graduate School of Design, Harvard Divinity School, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences overwhelmingly voted in favour of selecting delegates to a body tasked with designing a University-wide faculty senate.

As per the university, the vote was a clear stamp of approval from Harvard faculty members on moving toward a faculty senate.

The professors are demanding a faculty senate as they think that the university insufficiently engages faculty in decision-making. As per the faculties, this issue can be resolved with administrative power. The faculty members had several meetings with the Harvard administrators and governing boards regarding the issue.

University Professor Danielle S. Allen, who has led the faculty senate push, said in a statement that she found it “really encouraging” that so many faculty members participated in considering the resolutions.

More details of faculty senate push

At a meeting on May 21, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) voted to confer degrees on 13 seniors who were not eligible to receive their diplomas after they faced disciplinary charges for participating in a recent protest at the university. The decision was finally reversed by the university's highest governing body - Harvard Corporation.

FAS approval is significant in Harvard, if it is supporting the planning body it shows that it may be open to conceding at least some of its power.

As per the university, an electronic vote was conducted between May 21 and May 30, in which a total of 309 members of the FAS voted to approve the motion and 146 voted against it.

Dean of Social Science Lawrence D. Bobo, a vocal opponent of the faculty senate proposal, said in a statement that though he believes faculty need a greater say in governance, he still believes a faculty senate is not the right path forward.

Karen Thornber Named Harvard’s Next Faculty Director

The university has announced that Karen L. Thornber, a professor of Literature and East Asian Studies, will serve as the next Faculty Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning.

The news was sent through email to all FAS affiliates. Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra in her mail praised Thornber’s experience teaching across the University, from first-year seminars and undergraduate general education courses to the Extension school.

She wrote, "Professor Thornber is an extraordinary scholar, an innovative and passionate teacher, and an experienced academic leader."

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