President’s speeches, letters, and articles
Subject: Ad Hoc Committe on Governance Documents and Processes
September 10, 2024Dear Reed faculty and staff,
In response to many discussions—going back more than a decade—about the need for a comprehensive review of Reed’s governance documents, I have formed an ad hoc committee on governance documents and processes. This will be a multi-year project with the goal of better organizing and streamlining Reed’s current documents to reduce confusion, increase transparency, and ensure clarity of policies and procedures. Work will begin this fall.
Reed has a wide-ranging collection of governance and policy documents and processes, including materials related to college organization and governance, academics and curricular requirements, student life, and general community/institutional policies. The purpose of the ad hoc committee is to organize and clarify our documents and to identify possible conflicts or gaps. Discrepancies or unclear direction will be referred to the appropriate committees to address through established governance procedures. As a starting point, the ad hoc committee will begin by focusing on the Faculty Code.
This review will be conducted with a view to strengthening shared governance by providing greater clarity, and I expect that it will take at least two academic years to complete, with a schedule in place to conduct future reviews on a regular iterative basis.
Thank you to the members of this ad hoc committee for undertaking this important work:
Kathryn Oleson, Dean of the Faculty and Patricia and Clifford Lunneborg Professor of Psychology (committee chair)
Liz Colie Gadberry, Executive Assistant to the President & Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees
Peter Ksander, Professor of Theater
Jason Maher, Registrar
Karnell McConnell-Black, Vice President for Student Life
Nigel Nicholson, Walter Mintz Professor of Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies & Humanities
Suzy Renn, Associate Dean of the Faculty and Roger M. Perlmutter Professor of Biology
Michelle Wang, Associate Professor of Art History & Humanities
Sincerely,
Audrey
Audrey Bilger
President