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November 13, 2017

Academic Futures Open Forum: Strengthening Faculty Governance

Moderator:      David Brown

Listener:          Russ Moore

Points made and issues raised included:

1. We need a clear definition of “governing” for CU. 
   1. In some cases, the governing body makes the decision.  In others, they just provide input, or are not consulted at all.  The governance model needs clarification on decision-making authority (which body is the correct body to engage; what items require “approval” vs. “input only”).
   2. New members on the governing bodies (especially new faculty members) need access to information about how governance works here at CU and the expectations of a member of the governance bodies so that they can fully participate and in the process.
   3. There is a strong culture and history of a high level of involvement of faculty at the unit level, but not at the campus-level.  This causes frustration and disconnect.
2. Department chairs are, in general, under-utilized in the decision-making processes.
3. Governance works best when there are clear-cut goals, such as the revision of the core curriculum in A&S.  Governance needs to focus on issues that have concrete, consequential impact to university.
4. Governing body members need to be mindful of the impacts to the departmental budgets when voting on issues. Department chairs should be consulted on any issue with significant budget impact.
5. The engagement level in governance is inconsistent, leading to under-representation, misalignment, and ultimately under-utilization of the governance bodies as a resource for communication and decision-making.
6. Faculty will fully participate in governance if they believe that the governance model works, and will participate less if their time and efforts do not lead to results and outcomes.
7. Several campus-level initiatives have started recently without input from, engagement with, or communication to the faculty governance bodies.  The first time faculty hears about them is in Boulder Today emails.  Communication and engagement are key to success for campus-wide initiatives.