and give him an opportunity to provide feedback. Further, we shared these changes with the Board AAC in early July to address questions.
In addition to the three amendments that were approved by the Faculty Senate in the 2025-2026 academic year, there are two additional amendments before the Board this summer. These two amendments were approved by the Board on an interim basis last July. There was some confusion about the Code amendment process at that meeting, so we are bringing these changes forward again in hopes the Board will fully approve them at this meeting. These changes 1) clarify that members of the Senate Executive Committee should recuse themselves from issues related to their departments; and 2) expand representation of non-tenure- track faculty on the Faculty Senate. None of the changes before the Board at this meeting change language in the Code related to shared governance or the established consultation processes. The FSEC will continue working with the BOT AAC to explore the alignment between the shared governance document and the Faculty Code over Summer and Fall, in consultation with Dr. Bahls. Approval of the changes before the Board at this meeting are separate from any recommendations or amendments that might arise from the work between the FSEC and the BOT AAC. They are also not an approval of the Faculty Code as a whole – they are only an approval of the revisions to language on the areas described above. The Faculty Code has been an established governance document since the 1960s and will remain regardless of the Board’s vote on these amendments. We are concerned about the negative consequences of not approving the Faculty Code amendments fully at this meeting. We believe this action would further erode trust between faculty, administration, and the Board. Not approving the Code amendments will send a message to faculty that the Board continues to take a one- sided, administrative perspective on shared governance. It will make trust-building much more challenging or even impossible in the Fall, when Dr. Bahls' survey goes out. It will make faculty far more resistant to any proposed changes from the Board or the administration for the foreseeable future. We hope the Board will trust Faculty Senate leadership--as representatives who speak regularly with a wide swath of faculty--on the likelihood of this outcome. We similarly hope the Board will trust the
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