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I
often like to reflect on the various ways in which our form of government
enriches our lives, especially during the season when we commemorate and
celebrate our national independence. Did you know that our system of shared
governance in higher education is uniquely American? In fact, the system of
checks and balances found in our concept of shared governance in higher
education predates our constitution!
Witnessing
the most recent meeting of the UT Board of Trustees gives me good reason to
celebrate this year. One item on the agenda had a particular appeal to my love
and compassion for democracy. Our board members invested time and energy in
evaluating the quality of their service, individually and collectively, as a
governing body. Jim Murphy, Chair of the Trusteeship Committee, reviewed the
results of the performance evaluation process line by line in the open forum,
highlighting the not-so-good as well as the good ratings. Although I have heard
of the concept of boards committing themselves to self-evaluation, this is the
first time I have actually witnessed the results of such a process. The event
seemed to supply a refreshing air of humility and responsibility to the aura of
power and prestige that must certainly come with service as a member of the board
of trustees. It reinforced the fact that neither credit for success nor blame
for failure can be ascribed to one person or one group of people at our
institution. The University of Tennessee, including those who have committed
themselves to responsible public service as members of our board of trustees,
is a standard bearer for shared governance in American
society.
Gary
Petree
Training Program Manager
office 865.974.9830 cell 865.643-3117
The University of Tennessee
Municipal Technical Advisory Service
120 Conference Center Building
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-4105
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