With a unanimous vote by the PennWest Council of Trustees on July 13, the constitution and bylaws for PennWest’s Faculty Senate were approved, another milestone as the integrated university begins its second official year.

The Faculty Senate has a role in academic matters and educational policies of the university. Certain educational policies are developed by committees and considered and recommended for adoption, revision or elimination before being sent to the president.

The Council of Trustees vote affirmed work that began in 2021 under the leadership of PennWest Faculty Senate co-chairs Dr. Jacqueline Knaust, associate professor of chemistry at Clarion; Dr. Peter Kuvshinikov, associate professor of engineering at Edinboro; and Dr. Robin Weaver, associate professor of nursing at California.

The nine-member executive committee consists of the Office of the Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary. Each of the legacy campuses has one member per office.

Front row: Dr. Laurie Bernotsky, interim president, and Kathy Pape, PennWest trustee. Back row: Dr. Peter Kuvshinikov, associate professor of engineering at Edinboro; Dr. Robin Weaver, associate professor of nursing at California; and Dr. Jacqueline Knaust, associate professor of chemistry at Clarion.

In forging one PennWest Faculty Senate from three at the legacy institutions, compromise and collaboration were key.

“We decided pretty early on that the best way to move forward was if we shared leadership,” Knaust said. “We each have our duties. It’s not redundant, and it has worked awesomely.”

For example, “when a document is created from the Office of the Chair, all three of us have input,” Kuvshinikov said. “All three of our names are attached – so it’s not an ‘Edinboro thing’ or a ‘Cal thing’ or a ‘Clarion thing.’ Each campus has a voice.”

Other language in the new constitution and bylaws formalizes representation at faculty senate according to the size of departments, addresses the role of the standing committees, adds student representation to the group, and outlines how administrators interact with the group during meetings.

“We invited feedback all along,” Weaver said. “We got very good at the art of compromise, and we were able to support our faculty through the integration process as well.”

“This is a living document,” Knaust said. “We have created a document that will permit change as the needs of our university change.”