Special College-Wide Committees
Liberal Arts Council (LAC)
- Consists of faculty teaching in the liberal arts, both inside and outside the MILAIS.
- Meets as needed for a specific purpose of relevance to liberal arts at the College.
Note: For Institute faculty, this counts as department service.
Emerson-Blanquerna Global Center and Global Summit and Pre-summit
- Meets once a month and, occasionally, for additional meetings/retreats.
- Plans, recruits, and coordinates yearly Global Summit and Pre-summit (hosted every other year in the US) on global topics among colleges, NGOs, and governments globally. Faculty and administrators from Emerson and other universities globally attend the Summit.
- Organizes yearly Spring Break Public Diplomacy Trip to Barcelona/Lisbon.
Shared Governance
(Started in 2020)
- Consists of faculty, administration staff, the presidents of full-time faculty and affiliated faculty unions, the chair and vice-chair of Assembly, and undergraduate and graduate student representatives.
- Meets monthly.
Its purpose is to examine not only current practices but also to research best practices and discuss the implementation of shared governance in areas where it has not existed at Emerson. Such areas include how faculty are reviewed for possible punishment (discipline); how current structures for governance – such as Assembly and associated committees – can be augmented and improved to facilitate shared governance and concomitant effective communication between, and among, faculty and administration; and how faculty perspectives can be incorporated into the budgeting process.
It shares its recommendations with the Assembly, the administration, and the two unions; recommendations are not binding but rather jointly discussed and when agreements are reached, they could be eventually considered by those they represent for possible implementation. Ideas discussed without agreement would nevertheless provide food for thought and inform a renewed dialogue about shared governance at Emerson College.
NECHE (New England Commission of Higher Education)
(Every 10 years and for the fifth-year Interim Report)
- Committees are formed for each NECHE standard (comprising faculty, staff, and administration) and there is a chair of each standard committee.
- Meets regularly.
- Gathers the information for the standard.
- Submits to the Self-Study writer, who submits to the College community for review, collects all comments, incorporates in standards, edits and rewrites the abundant material to the NECHE-required 100 pages, and shares the draft of the Self-Study with the community for final review.
- Standard committee members participate in the meetings of the External Reviewers’ visit.
Ad Hoc Committees
- Short-term committee work formed for a specific purpose and with a finite end.
- Usually 1–2 meetings.
- An example is the Carnegie Civic Engagement Classification form committee.
Future of Emerson (FoE)
- Meets every two weeks.
- Works in collaboration with key members from across the College (faculty, staff, students) on an area of exploration and envisioning the College’s future.
- Lays the foundation for new strategic plans.
Calendar Committee
- Consists of one or two faculty members and staff.
- Meets to discuss and plan the academic calendar.
Sustainability Teach-In
- Plans, recruits, and coordinates Teach-in in Spring.
- Seeks funding both internally and externally.
- During Fall, meets monthly; during Spring, meets weekly.
Teach-In on Race
- Plans, recruits, and coordinates Teach-In in Spring.
Spirit of Emerson
- Organizes the annual award.
