University Governance

Saint Joseph's University has several different governance structures to represent faculty, staff, and students.

The University Council is the main body for policy formation at the university. Proposals for new policies, programs, majors, and minors are sent to the University Council. The Council then forwards mandates for study to various committees: the College Council of the College of Arts and Sciences, the College Council of the Haub School of Business, the College Council of the Haub School of Business, the College Council of the School of Education and Human Development, the College Council of the School of Health Professions, the Faculty Policies and Procedures Committee, the Academic Policies and Procedures Committee, the Administrative/Staff Council and the Student Affairs Committees for both full and part-time students.

After reviewing the recommendations of the various committees, the Council votes on mandates. If they are approved, they are forwarded to the President for his approval, and in some cases, mandates need to be approved by the Board of Trustees. A more detailed description is available elsewhere on the website.

Note: The University’s governance website (gov.sju.edu) has been sunset, with the development of a new Policy website designed to provide access to policies and guidelines that broadly apply to the University community, coupled with greater search functionality within the University Council website since its move to a Google shared drive format. All mandates should be submitted to Melissa McClory, via email.

College Council of the College of Arts and Sciences

The College Council of the College of Arts and Sciences represents the full-time faculty and associate deans of the College. The councils act on mandates received from the University Council. The college council also formulates internal college policy consistent with university-wide guidelines on academic and faculty matters while providing a forum for discussion. All full-time and part-time faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences may attend meetings of the College Council.

College Council of the Haub School of Business

The College Council of the Haub School of Business represents the faculty of the School. The councils act on mandates received from the University Council. The college council also formulates internal college policy consistent with university-wide guidelines on academic and faculty matters while providing a forum for discussion. All full-time and part-time faculty in the Haub School of Business may attend meetings of the College Council.

College Council of the School of Education and Human Development

The College Council of the School of Education and Human Development represents the full-time tenure-track and full-time non-tenure-track faculty of the School. The councils act on mandates received from the University Council. The college council also formulates internal college policy consistent with university-wide guidelines on academic and faculty matters while providing a forum for discussion. All full-time and part-time faculty in the School of Education and Human Development may attend meetings of the College Council.

College Council of the School of Health Professions

The College Council of the School of Health Professions represents the full-time tenure-track and full-time non-tenure-track faculty of the School. The councils act on mandates received from the University Council. The college council also formulates internal college policy consistent with university-wide guidelines on academic and faculty matters while providing a forum for discussion. All full-time and part-time faculty in the School of Health Professions may attend meetings of the College Council.

The Adjunct and Visiting Faculty Association (AVFA) is a group of non-tenure-track faculty (NTT) at Saint Joseph’s University who have come together in an association for the sake of enhancing their professional interests. NTT faculty are defined in the Faculty Handbook as any full-time or part-time faculty member who is neither tenured nor employed under a tenure-track letter of appointment. An “adjunct” is a part-time, non-tenure-track faculty member.

The Staff and Administrative Senate (SAS) is a newly formed Support Council that formally comprises the ASC (Administrative Staff Council) and PCOMPCOM (Personnel Compensation Committee). SAS comprises employees of both Hawk Hill and University City campuses.

View SAS's Website

The purpose of the University Student Senate (USS) is to provide full representation of the views and opinions of the students. USS acts as a conduit between the students, faculty, staff, and administration, as well as strongly advocates the sentiments and interests of the students in both University and community affairs. The USS also incorporates the student voice in the policy and decision-making processes of the University. 

View USS's Website