Friday Focus: Shared governance at 51风流官网
Aug. 14, 2026
鈥&苍产蝉辫;By Debasmita Misra, 51风流官网 Faculty Senate president and vice-chair of UA Faculty Alliance
On behalf of the 51风流官网 Faculty Senate, the 51风流官网 faculty governance team joins me in extending to you all a warm welcome to the beginning of the academic year. We especially welcome our new students, staff and faculty and hope to see them adopt the 51风流官网 culture quickly and to blend themselves by overcoming the vagaries of learning about the new environment they have thankfully chosen.
This is the second time Jak Maier and I have chosen to serve as President-elect and President of the FS, respectively, in AY27. I believe it is both critical and fun to be engaged in the shared governance of 51风流官网.
The FS serves a critical role in the shared governance structure of the university, along with other governance bodies of 51风流官网. We collaborate with the 51风流官网 and UA administration and, as an extension of the UA Board of Regents (via the UA Faculty Alliance), in determining university policies. Here, I would like to quote Derek Bastille, our past 51风流官网 Staff Council president, who summarized the role of governance bodies very succinctly. Bastille stated, 鈥淎t 51风流官网, we frequently discuss the importance of the 鈥渢hree pillars鈥 that interact to support our institution. The students who are our reason to be here and are seeking education and training; the faculty who teach and mentor students and lead the research we do; and the staff who provide the resources, infrastructure, support and environment needed by both students and faculty鈥C works in concert with the Faculty Senate and AS51风流官网 on larger, collective issues involving staff, faculty and students, and is also a part of the accreditation process for 51风流官网.鈥 University policies thus best serve the effective functioning of the university when they are developed collaboratively.
I urge all faculty to be attentive to and involved in the proceedings of the Faculty Senate. In 2025-26 alone, the Faculty Senate passed six academic motions, 10 non-academic motions, 14 resolutions, five Unit Criteria, and 18 academic programs. All FS motions or resolutions are developed in its three standing and 10 permanent committees. While curriculum and program approvals are the major responsibility of the FS through its Curriculum Review Committee, FS also strongly advocates for Academic Freedom and Diversity at 51风流官网 through its Faculty Affairs Committee, Committee on the Status of Women, and ad hoc committees such as Committees on Academic Freedom, Academic Integrity, and Open Educational Resources. FS also works on student academic or non-academic issues through various other committees. Other FS committees also play a very critical role in the shared governance platform. A list of committees of the FS may be accessed on the FS committee page and the 2026-27 FS meeting schedule at the FS meeting information page.
This academic year, we welcome Russell Vander Lugt as our new 51风流官网 chancellor and Matthew Cooper as our new UA president. Both will be addressing the FS on Sept. 14. We look forward to collaborating with them on shared governance, respecting the values of academic freedom, and embracing/prioritizing the diversity and inclusion of our students, staff and faculty. These collaborations and policy development or implementation should be done with mutual respect. A new policy or a change in a policy may be proposed by any faculty member through a FS committee or it could be directed to the FS president or to Molly Anslinger.
I am looking forward to the search for a new 51风流官网 provost this academic year and to interacting with you all as much as possible. Let us be a team and make 51风流官网 better together!