The Distinguished Faculty Governance Award was established by the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs in 1986. The award recognizes distinguished service to faculty governance over several years, with an emphasis on universitywide service. The Alumni Association funds the award.
Silke-Maria Weineck, Grace Lee Boggs Professor of Comparative Literature and German Studies, professor of comparative literature, and professor of Germanic languages and literature, LSA
Weineck, who served on the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs in 2014-17 and chaired SACUA in 2015-16, has demonstrated a deep concern for faculty and staff since joining the U-M faculty in 1998.
She has served in leadership roles in her department, as well as on the Advisory Board on Intercollegiate Athletics, the Committee on the Economic and Social Well-Being of the Faculty, and advisory committees to U-M executive officers.
While serving on the Administrative Services Transformation Administrative Council, Weineck negotiated an agreement that prevented staff layoffs. As head of SACUA, she negotiated a compromise on the dissemination of teaching evaluations and helped rewrite the professional standards section of U-M’s Standard Practice Guide.
She assisted dozens of faculty members as an LSA ombud and faculty grievance monitor. She led a successful petition drive that persuaded U-M leaders to publicly support Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. She also organized the first public university faculty governance conference, which brought together representatives from 14 universities to discuss academic freedom and related issues.
