The Academic Senates of the Ventura County Community College District hosted Bill Scroggins, ASCCC President, for an afternoon focused on shared governance. A number of administrators joined faculty in listening to Bill's clear and thoughtful presentation and in a lively Q&A following the presentation. As a result, the Moorpark College Academic Senate is working with the college this fall semester in an attempt to review, describe and define the committee structure of the college. A number of committees have undergone changes in their functions over the years, and materials describing them-such as the faculty handbook-have become embarrassingly dated.
Once this review is completed during the semester, the Senate intends to begin developing written agreements on collaborative governance. Moorpark is losing its founding generation of faculty, and much history and practice that had been in the heads of those faculty is being lost. So the time is right for capturing that history and practice in print, reviewing it and specifying changes where necessary. Though the work can be onerous, it is important for the future of the local senate and the college as a whole.