Shared governance legislation is coming to Virginia colleges and universities.
HB 1385 (2026)
Like all statutory corporations in the United States, Old Dominion University is governed by the rule of law. At ODU, the principal body of rules and procedures regarding the Faculty is the Faculty Handbook.
The Faculty Forum
The body that is charged as the official voice of the Faculty is the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate represents an entity called the Faculty Forum. The Faculty Forum is the set of all full-time teaching and research faculty. It includes all full-time faculty, whether tenure-line or on term contracts.
The Faculty Senate
The Senate is elected by its faculty peers. At ODU each academic department has one representative (like the U.S. Senate, not proportional representation). At present, the ODU Faculty Senate has 56 representatives. Senators are elected by their department colleagues for two-year terms. Elections are held in March.
The organizational work of the Faculty Senate is conducted by an executive committee. The executive committee consists of three officers (elected in odd-numbered years to two-year terms) plus six at-large members (elected in even-numbered years to two-year terms).
Most of the work of the Faculty Senate concerns the amendment of policy in the Faculty Handbook.
The Faculty Handbook: your sword and shield
Old Dominion University has a very mature set of rules and procedures. The Faculty Handbook is a body of intramural legislation that has been honed for more than forty years. Most procedural matters that can possibly occur are addressed in the Faculty Handbook.
Governance Process
The Faculty Handbook is under constant revision. When a situation calls for a procedure or some regularization, any member of the Faculty Forum or the Administrative Faculty can introduce legislation. In state and federal politics, a proposal is called a “bill.” At ODU, a proposal is called an “issue.”
Submitted issues are assigned by the Senate chair to one of the university’s nine standing committees. Compare the U.S. Senate with standing committees for Appropriations, Armed Services, Judiciary, etc. ODU has committees for undergraduate education (two committees), Graduate Studies, Scholarly Activity & Research, Faculty Status, and others.
The relevant committee considers how the proposed issue can best be articulated in the Faculty Handbook and reconciled with other existing policy. The committee then brings its recommendation to the Senate floor, where it is voted on.
If the Senate passes the issue, the issue then proceeds to Provost’s Council, where the body of deans can approve, amend, or reject the Senate’s recommendation.
If Provost’s Council approves the issue, then it goes to the president for his or her signature. The president has veto power.
University Policies vs. Board of Visitors Policies
The Faculty Handbook includes University Policies only. Anything that governs the teaching and research faculty goes into the Faculty Handbook. In order to be placed in the Faculty Handbook, the policy must come through the Faculty Senate.
This is the essence of shared governance at Old Dominion University.
AAUP at ODU 