Academic staff governance takes the form of decision making bodies organized by and for academic staff, shared governance committees, membership on search and screen committees, ad hoc committees and other forms of participation in institutional decision and policy making. The governance of public institutions in a democratic society, like the society itself, is best served by the broadest participation of their respective constituencies. By action of the Legislature of the State of Wisconsin [Wisconsin State Statutes Chapter 36.09 (4m)] and directive of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Academic Staff is responsible for active participation in the governance of and policy development for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Other participants in the shared governance process include administration, faculty, classified staff and students. Here is a diagram depicting shared governance on the UW-Madison campus (link to pdf in the folder called Shared Governance Flow).
36.09 (4m) states “The academic staff members of each institution, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president and the chancellor and faculty of the institution, shall be active participants in the immediate governance of and policy development for the institution. The academic staff members have the primary responsibility for the formulation and review, and shall be represented in the development, of all policies and procedures concerning academic staff members, including academic staff personnel matters. The academic staff members of each institution shall have the right to organize themselves in a manner they determine and to select their representatives to participate in institutional governance.”
To get a complete picture of the scope of academic staff governance at the UW-Madison campus, here is a diagram. Here is a second schematic for a campus-wide view of shared governance.