The executive board of Central Michigan University's Academic Senate will meet with the board of trustees Wednesday to discuss problems with university governance.

The meeting, which will be held privately from 4 to 5 p.m., will consist of the six members of the A-Senate's executive board and the board of trustees. Following the meeting, the Trustee-Faculty Liason Committee will meet with the board of trustees from 5 to 6 p.m.

Among the issues being discussed at the meeting, the two parties will share their views about shared governance, the College of Medicine, campus climate and the A-Senate's vote of no confidence against University President George Ross and Provost Gary Shapiro.

A-Senate Chairman Jim McDonald said the meeting will be an open dialogue for the parties to discuss current issues with university governance.

"We were told that they would like a candid discussion," McDonald said. "They want us to tell them what we think is going on on campus as far as transparency, communication, shared governance and what’s working and what isn’t working."

McDonald said one reason the meeting is being held is because of the Dec. 8 vote of no confidence against Ross and Shapiro, which has received endorsements from at least 10 different academic departments.

"The beginning of this was in December when the Trustee-Faculty Liason Committee had an open discussion about the College of Medicine," McDonald said. "Now, this is coming on the heels of all the faculties endorsing the vote of no confidence and the president and provost meeting with individual departments."

CMU Board of Trustees Chairman Sam Kottamasu will be one of the board members participating in the discussion at the meeting.

"The purpose of the meeting is to explore ways to improve communications throughout the university community, to listen to their comments and concerns and working together for the success of our students," Kottamasu said in an email.

Academic departments have continued to endorse the vote of no confidence against Ross and Shapiro throughout the month of February, including the department of human environmental studies and department of psychology.

Human Environmental Studies Department Chairwoman Megan Goodwin said the unanimous ballot vote to endorse the vote of no confidence reflected similar concerns that other departments have expressed, including transparency and the university's decision-making process.

"We have had lots of conversation about the issue of sharing information and talking with the campus community about decisions that are going to be made," Goodwin said.

Though the department was far from the first to endorse the vote of no confidence, Goodwin said the vote was still carefully considered and thoroughly discussed before ballots were distributed.

"We gave some really thoughtful deliberation to this decision, because we know it’s a significant action to make on the part of the department," she said.

Psychology Department Chairman Hajime Otani said his department voted to endorse the vote of no confidence last Friday, and is still in the process of informing the board of trustees.