ABSTRACT
In the university-building era of the late nineteenth century to World War I, faculty at major universities struggled to gain influence in the governance of their universities. One way they sought to create more opportunities for faculty representation on matters of educational policy in institutional governance was by establishing faculty senates. Senates were created during the University Movement through proactive and reactionary forces: the growth and modernization of universities, faculty initiative, and in response to crisis. Senates in American universities originated in the first research-focused institutions, beginning with Johns Hopkins University in 1880. The earliest academic senates in American higher education were created as part of the original scheme of their university, or in the very early years of the institution's existence. Not coincidentally, Johns Hopkins, the University of Chicago, and Catholic University all embodied from the very beginning a focus on doctoral education and research, which required a specialized faculty.
