University of Dayton
PA-3: Participatory Governance

All full time undergraduate students have an avenue to participate and elect representatives to the SGA, Student Government Association. They have access to a software program called OrgSync – and that is used to elect representatives to SGA by class (first-year, sophomore, etc.) and by major (Arts & Sciences rep, School of Business Admin rep, etc.).

Staff participate in university governance through serving on committees including the President’s Council, President’s Cabinet, Human Resources Advisory Council, and the University Policy Coordinating Committee. Staff typically serve as a representative for their unit at the request of their unit leader.

Faculty participate in university governance through the Academic Senate, the Human Resources Advisory Council, and the Education Leadership Council. Tenured and tenure-track faculty elect representatives to the Senate within their division or unit, and full-time non-tenure track faculty elect a representative, as do adjunct faculty. Students, undergraduate and graduate, and administrators are also represented on the Academic Senate; however, all Senate officers are faculty members. Additionally, faculty are nominated to participate on various committees which consult on and develop policies. Representatives report to the provost’s office and to campus units.

Local residents and other external stakeholders also have the opportunity to contribute to institutional decisions through the Board of Trustees, the highest governing body of the University. The University of Dayton’s governing Code of Regulations ensures that community stakeholders are participants in university governance, strategy, and operations. The Code (Article V Section 5) stipulates that at least 20% of the total number of Trustees, including ex officio voting Trustees, shall represent involvement in the Greater Dayton community. “Greater Dayton” means the eight-county area consisting of Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Clarke, Darke, Warren, Butler, and Preble counties. Because of this representation on the Board and the strong commitment of the University to be partners in community-building, the community is able to provide feedback about the institution's role and impact with the community including adjacent property owners, and relationships with the City of Dayton, Montgomery County, and surrounding communities. https://www.udayton.edu/legalaffairs/governingdocs/code-of-regulations-page.php When the University of Dayton applies for changes to the city's zoning code for land-use changes, the community and external stakeholders have the opportunity to provide input through the city's public notice and comment periods. For all projects where earth will be disturbed, the University also must apply for an NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) permit. Members of the public may review permit applications in order to familiarize themselves with permits that may affect them. The community has the opportunity to provide comments on the draft permit either in writing or at public hearings. As part of a recent industrial site clean-up on land acquired by the University, public notices and public comment periods with the Ohio EPA and US EPA provided community members and external stakeholders opportunities to provide input on land use planning and capital investment projects involving the reclaimed site. Fitz Center Mission Statement provides a framework for stakeholder engagement. The Fitz Center for Leadership in Community initiates and sustains partnerships within urban neighborhoods and larger communities that both support comprehensive community building and provide a context for broadly connected learning and scholarship. The agenda of the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community, the University’s lead community engagement organization, is determined entirely on the basis of the leadership challenges facing the community partners. It is a collaboration with our communities that enables them to provide feedback to the university on its role and impact in the community. All Fitz Center partners contribute to monthly or quarterly face-to-face discussions of emerging community challenges and the University’s current and desired role in addressing the challenges.

Board of Trustees Local Community Membership. The University of Dayton’s governing Code of Regulations ensures that community stakeholders are participants in university governance, strategy, and operations. The Code (Article V Section 5) stipulates that at least 20% of the total number of Trustees, including ex officio voting Trustees, shall represent involvement in the Greater Dayton community. “Greater Dayton” means the eight-county area consisting of Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Clarke, Darke, Warren, Butler, and Preble counties. Because of this representation on the Board and the strong commitment of the University to be parterns in community-building, the community is able to provide feedback about the institution's role and impact with the community including adjacent property owners, and relationships with the City of Dayton, Montgomery County, and surrounding communities. (https://www.udayton.edu/legalaffairs/governingdocs/code-of-regulations-page.php). Members of the Board of Trustees represent civil society, private sector, and educational organizations. (https://udayton.edu/president/administration/board-of-trustees/index.php) Fitz Center Mission Statement provides a framework for stakeholder engagement. The Fitz Center for Leadership in Community initiates and sustains partnerships within urban neighborhoods and larger communities that both support comprehensive community building and provide a context for broadly connected learning and scholarship. The agenda of the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community, the University’s lead community engagement organization, is determined entirely on the basis of the leadership challenges facing the community partners. It is a collaboration with our communities that enables them to provide feedback to the university on its role and impact in the community. All Fitz Center partners contribute to monthly or quarterly face-to-face discussions of emerging community challenges and the University’s current and desired role in addressing the challenges. Land-use planning: The University supports a Project Manager position as a liaison to engage external stakeholders in land use planning for a newly pruchased "Fairgrounds" property adjacent to campus. This project manager is in regular email and personal contact with community members, has coordinated over 40 stakeholder meetings, including 3 meetings with the community group (FANS), and four advisory committee meetings that bring several groups to the same table (Dayton Development Co, Downtown Dayton Partnership, Urban League, City of Dayton, Dayton History, Dayton Chamber of Commerce, Fitz Center, RTA, Citywide Development). In addition, the planning firm hired by the University and its partner in the project, Premier Health, held two community wide events that brought in over 500 people (total), and supported an opportunity for online engagement that brought in over 1300 ideas. (http://fairgroundstofuture.org/) Additionally, each school convenes an Advisory Council that includes membership by external stakeholders. The schools rely on advisory councils to stay connected to industry partners, non-profit organizations, and governmental organizations and educational institutions. Membership on these advisory councils includes external stakeholders from local government, educational, private-sector, and civil society organizations. Examples include representatives from the Marianist communities, local governments, Dayton Public Schools, local businesses, and local non-profit organizations. The following are a few of the advisory councils that have external stakeholders: Law School: https://udayton.edu/law/about/about-us/advisory_council.php School of Business Administration: https://udayton.edu/business/alumni/advisory-councils/bac.php Libraries: https://udayton.edu/libraries/about/committee.php