General Institutional Governance
The governance of Wilmington College is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees, the administration, and the faculty, each acting within the sphere of its responsibility under the Articles of Incorporation and the laws of the State of Ohio. Important areas of action involve, at one time or another, the initiating capacity, decision making expertise and cooperative involvement of these three groups. It is therefore desirable to provide full opportunity for joint planning and effort in campus governance, seeking consensus and giving due weight to the institutional responsibilities of each group with respect to the particular issue presented.
Issues that benefit from joint decision-making include framing and executing long- range and strategic plans, managing existing and prospective physical resources and drafting and monitoring campus budgets. Additionally, selection of chief officers of the College, including the President, the Academic Dean/Dean of the Faculty, Vice President for External Programs and other administrative personnel whose duties affect curricular and academic affairs, should be a joint responsibility in which Board, administration and faculty have a voice.
If in the course of policy development, serious questions arise about the impact of a particular action on the resources of the College, deference should be given to the judgment of the Board of Trustees who, as fiduciaries, is charged by law with responsibility for financial affairs, property and overall conduct of the agents, employees and students of the College.
Board of Trustees: The Board of Trustees is responsible for the general management of the affairs of Wilmington College, all within limitations of the law, and the Articles of Incorporation. The Board of Trustees shall be attentive to advice from representations from the Yearly Meeting, duly appointed for that purpose, giving careful consideration to any concern proposed with possible deferment of action until an understanding is reached with the Board of Trustees, however, having responsibility for final action.
The Board of Trustees shall exercise ultimate institutional authority through its general, academic and financial policymaking and its responsibility for the health and welfare of the institution.
President: From the By-Laws of the Wilmington College Board of Trustees:
- The President serves the Board for such term, compensation and with such conditions of employment as the Board shall determine.
- The President is the chief executive officer of the College and the chief advisor to and executive agent for the Board of Trustees. The authority of the President is vested through the Board of Trustees and includes responsibility for all the educational and managerial affairs of the College. S/he is responsible for leading the College in a manner consistent with the purpose and mission statements, implementing Board policies, keeping the Board informed, consulting with the Board in a timely manner on issues related to its policy-making and fiduciary responsibilities and serving as the College’s spokesperson and representative. The President has the authority to execute documents on behalf of the College and the Board, consistent with Board policy and decisions and in the best interests of the College.
- The President shall appoint academic and administrative officers and staff and shall render regular reports of these appointments to the Board of Trustees.
- The President serves as an ex officio member of all standing committees of the Board, and shall staff the Executive Committee, the Trusteeship Committee and the Joint Trustee Nominating Committee.
- The President shall present, or cause to be presented, quarterly reports on the income and expenses of the College and shall submit an annual operating budget to the Board for its approval. Annually the President shall report to the Board of Trustees the general salary bands by academic rank and a comparison of the College’s salary schedule with other Colleges of similar size and characteristics.
- The President or the Chair of the Board of Trustees shall make an annual report to the Yearly Meeting upon the condition of the College including significant events of the year, its physical property, endowments and finances and the development of its faculty and academic achievements and its goals.
Faculty: As the group providing the principal educational service of the College, the faculty makes judgments on curriculum, scholarship, methods of instruction and aspects of student life related to the educational process. In these academic areas, the Board and the administration should act contrary to faculty judgments only in exceptional circumstances, following bona fide efforts at consensus by all parties and for reasons clearly communicated to the faculty.
The faculty shares responsibility with the Academic Dean/Dean of the Faculty for addressing questions of faculty status, tenure and dismissal. Faculty and administration will jointly arrive at decisions in these areas subject to the final approval of the President.
In fiscal policies and other non-academic institutional policies, the faculty serves as an advisory group to the administration. The administration will consult with faculty in developing and implementing all such policies.
In all these areas of responsibility, faculty and administration will share information and consult together prior to decision making and will seek to reach consensus on decisions.
Faculty Governance Document
(see Appendix 1.1)
Student Government Association (SGA)
It is the responsibility of Wilmington College's SGA to serve as the representative voice of the student body, to encourage understanding and respect for the Quaker tradition of peace, service and inner direction and to promote pride in the College. The SGA seeks to serve all students' desires for improved student services and academic programs, as well as promote honest and open communications among students, faculty, administration and staff. The SGA Steering Committee is also responsible for the allocation of the student activity fee. A copy of the SGA constitution and by-laws is available through the Office of Student Services.
Administration/Staff
There is an Administrative and Support Staff Handbook. Many of the items in this handbook and the Faculty Handbook are similar, but each handbook serves a different group of employees. Copies of the Administrative and Support Staff Handbooks are available online and in the Office of Human Resources.