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About Staff Senate
College Governance—Your Voice
The College has a collegial governance structure intended to support the president by providing an organized forum through which faculty, students, staff, and administrators may receive information regarding College processes, and through which they may participate in developing recommendations in their areas of primary responsibility. Collegial governance is an internal process comprising a wide range of committees that report to the president, who then prepares final recommendations to the Board of Trustees, when appropriate. The system is dependent upon early and ongoing consultation with affected or interested members of the campus community, all of whom have the opportunity and obligation to inform the deliberations and to advise committees. The Staff Senate is seen as fulfilling a much-needed role at TCNJ: to give members of the staff an important voice in campus affairs and governance.
How Does the Staff Senate Fit?
During the spring 2000 semester, both in meetings of the Committee on Quality of Campus Life and at open forums to discuss the new governance process, staff members expressed a desire for a more balanced representation in governance.
Staff members focused on the importance of broadening the opportunities of classified staff, AFT administrators, and mid-level managers to participate in governance. Subsequently, the Board of Trustees approved a new governance system (Governance 2000 document) that sanctioned the concept of a Staff Association. Since then a group of staff members worked to establish a structure which would support an on-going Staff Senate. Any staff member on campus is invited to become an active member of the Staff Senate.
How Do YOU Fit?
Become a Senator! Staff Senator positions will either be appointed by a group of their peers to open positions that are specifically reserved for staff members within TCNJ’s governance structure or elected to serve by the entire campus staff community. The Elections and Constitution Council of the Staff Senate distributes information about all eligible positions to campus staff members via this mailing. To be eligible, candidates must be a current, permanent, non-faculty employee of TCNJ and must have at least 10 months experience as an employee of the College at the time of application. How much time is necessary to serve as a senator? An estimated five hours per month is the anticipated time commitment.
What are the terms of the Staff Senate positions?
All Staff Senate Senators are elected for three-year terms.
Where can I get more information?
First visit the senate’s Web site at www.tcnj.edu/~stafforg. If you still have additional questions, please feel free to contact the Staff Senate at staffsen@tcnj.edu.
