Bratman, Michael E.

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: Professor Michael Bratman offers general reflections on the operations of the Stanford Faculty Senate and describes his experience as the chair of the 29th Faculty Senate in 1996-1997. A key topic of the 29th Senate was the reevaluation of the Cultures, Ideas, and Values (CIV) Area One requirement, which attracted a great deal of national attention as to whether Stanford would remain committed to diversity in its curriculum. Bratman describes with pride how the senate handled this complicated issue and put in place a process that all constituencies felt was fair. Bratman also comments on the agenda-setting role of the Senate Steering Committee and the essential role played by the Academic Secretary in providing institutional background, continuity, and preparation for the incoming chair. Other topics covered include the electoral process, the role played by the university president and provost in the senate, the convening of the second Planning and Policy Board, and the way Bratman’s experience as senate chair prepared him for a later role as president of the American Philosophical Association at a challenging time in that organization’s history. The interview ends with Bratman’s reflections on some of the traditions of the senate and his observation that great universities are made in part by the kind of procedures they follow in making important decisions.

Type of resource	mixed material
Date created	July 28, 2017

Author	Bratman, Michael E.
Publisher	Gifford, Jonathan G.
Publisher	Stanford Historical Society

Subject	Michael Bratman
Subject	Stanford Historical Society
Subject	oral histories
Subject	interviews
Subject	higher education
Subject	professors
Subject	Stanford University. Faculty Senate
Subject	universities and colleges > administration
Subject	faculty governance
Subject	universities and colleges > faculty

Related item	Title Finding Aid
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/cj983bt6282

Use and reproduction: The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
Copyright: Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.

Preferred Citation: Bratman, Michael E. (2017).
Interview for the Stanford Faculty Senate Oral History Project. Stanford Historical Society
Oral History Program Interviews (SC0932). Department of Special Collections & University
Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif. Available at:
https://purl.stanford.edu/cj983bt6282

Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022

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