University policies result from several groups of decision makers interacting in complex ways, both formal and informal. These groups include the Board of Trustees; the President and the university administration; elected committees of the campus governance system; the corporate faculty and the boards that report to it; the Provost and Dean of the Faculty and the Dean’s Advisory Council (DAC); the academic departments and programs, which report to the DAC through division directors; and the Student Senate.
The Constitution of the Colgate Governance System was formally adopted by the faculty on April 16, 1979. The major components of the system include an Academic Affairs Board and a Student Affairs Board, on which faculty, students, and administrators sit; a Conference Board, which may be called into existence by the President when the occasion warrants; Liaison Committees in five defined areas; and, in extraordinary circumstances, special Task Forces appointed by the President of the University.1
1 Temporary replacements of faculty members on all Boards and elected committees: at the general elections in the spring, the Faculty will elect replacements to fill all known forthcoming faculty vacancies on all Boards and elected committees (e.g., vacancies which occur because of resignations or anticipated leaves). Unanticipated vacancies which develop on the Academic Affairs Board and the Student Affairs Board after the spring elections and before the first Faculty meeting of the following fall term will be filled through election at the first Faculty meeting of the fall term. Vacancies on these Boards that occur thereafter will be filled by temporary appointment by the Dean of the Faculty to serve until the end of the academic year. Vacancies on the elected committees that occur after the general election in the spring term will be filled by temporary replacements appointed by the other elected faculty members of a committee to serve until the end of the academic year.