Salve Regina University
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Student Government Association: We are a group of undergraduate students who officially represent the student body. Our purpose is to serve and advocate for all students whom we represent. Working in conjunction with Salve Regina administrators, we strive to enforce change and progress on campus to meet the needs of the students we represent.

Faculty Assembly:
The Teaching Faculty, in addition to their particular classroom and
department responsibilities, together share a general responsibility for the integrity of the University’s entire educational endeavor. Broad issues that go across departments (e.g., the Core Curriculum, General Education Requirements, major restructuring, and governance matters) all benefit from the input of the Teaching Faculty. The Teaching Faculty are primarily responsible for the University’s essential activity, education, and they exercise their corporate responsibility through the Faculty Assembly. This body should keep in mind that its principal role is one of service and positive contribution to the Mission,
educational goals, and academic quality of the University. The Faculty Assembly makes recommendations in an advisory capacity. The nature of the issue determines whether the recommendation is forwarded to the Board of Trustees, the President, a member of the administration, or all of the Instructional Staff. Responses to or communications with the Faculty Assembly are made through the Executive Committee of the Faculty Assembly and/or the Speaker of the Faculty Assembly.

Staff Advisory Council - In accordance with Salve Regina University’s Mercy, Catholic mission, the Staff Advisory Council (SAC) will serve to represent non-faculty employees in an effort to foster effective communication, enhance the quality of the staff experience, and increase the level of engagement among staff. The Staff Advisory Council serves in an advisory capacity to the University President and accomplishes its goals by:
i.fostering open, honest, and productive communication,
ii.sharing information and identifying issues of importance, and
iii.increasing awareness of the contributions made by staff to the University while promoting the recognition of outstanding staff.

Annually, the university hosts a "town and gown" event with community collaborators (neighbors, community partners, non-profit organizations, civic leaders, and friends), which creates a space for discussion and updates between the University and the town and celebrates the partnerships Salve has with the community. In June 2023 this event saw over 200 people from the community to have a voice and learn more about Salve's partnerships, programs, and future projects and initiatives.

Salve is also an active member in the Bellevue-Ochre Point Neighborhood Association (BOPNA) Salve hosts the Association's Annual Meeting which creates a forum for Salve to present its long-term plans and receive feedback from community members that share the same "historic residential district located south of the Bellevue Avenue commercial district, extending south of the ocean, east to the ocean and west to Coggeshall Avenue/ Spring Street." In the past, when the university has considered building new residential halls, for example, sharing with this association gives Salve the opportunity to collect input from the community.

Additionally, there are many committees and partnerships which create opportunities for community members to have a voice in the decision making throughout the year. Some examples include:

The Arboretum's Campus Tree Advisory Committee includes members of the community through the Newport Tree Conservancy and Bartlett Tree Experts. This Committee that is charged with promoting and engaging support for the Arboretum meets quarterly to review progress and discuss ideas for collaboration between the University and greater communities.

The Advisory Board for Graduate and Professional Studies is made up of approximately two dozen business professionals and/or alumni from the community who have expertise that correlates to one of our graduate program disciplines. This committee meets three times a year to:
• Provide direct feedback on both degree-bearing and non-degree bearing (professional studies) opportunities
• Make a positive impact by providing valuable insights to University decision-makers
• Engage with graduate faculty and students

MLK Week Planning Committee: Annually, Salve Regina hosts a week in January to celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The MLK Week Planning Committee oversees the week of programming and includes the voice of the community. The NAACP Newport Chapter always has representation on the Planning Committee and hosts an event in Newport on MLK Day that their Salve family is invited to participate in. Community Members are actively invited to participate in programming on campus, which they do. At our annual "Spoken Word" event, roughly half of the performers of poetry, essays, monologues, and music are from the Newport and surrounding counties. At this event, performers share their passions, lived experiences, and concerns regarding violence and racism with Salve and Newport community members and challenges Salve to continue to be leaders within nonviolence and anti-racism work.

Salve's Pathways Program offered in partnership with Rogers High School in Newport. The Pathways program at Salve Regina University is designed to shepherd first-generation students and their families to high school graduation and college enrollment.

Cliff Walk Together: With the deterioration of the Cliff Walk which runs along the campus' eastern border along the ocean, Newport and Salve have partnered in many ways to reopen the areas of the Cliff Walk that have been shut down. Through these partnerships, community members and Salve staff, faculty, and students, the City of Newport, and the Cliff Walk Commission have opened up dialogues and collaborations that impact both the city and the university.

Graduate & Professional Studies Advisory Board includes local and region leaders as advisors to the Graduate and Professional Studies program.