University of Massachusetts at Boston. Library

Faculty governing bodies have played an important role at UMass/ Boston. The power of such elected, representative bodies has ranged from determining curriculum policies to supervising student activities to having a significant impact on the selection of administrators. The early faculty had a great deal of responsibility and authority, which lessened as the university gained an administrative structure and staff. Before the founding of the Student Senate, the governing body of the faculty had varying levels of student representation. With the founding of the Student Senate, the two bodies (faculty and students) separated their purviews. Several faculty bodies had staff representation as well.