to see how they are doing and to hold themselves accountable. They would also like to gather feedback from the student trustee.
• Academic Affairs Committee
o Committee Report (Jeff Charbonneau) Trustee Charbonneau reported that the Board of Trustees Academic Affairs Committee (BOT AAC) met with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC) in the fall by Zoom to discuss standard procedures. At the request of the FSEC, the BOT AAC met with the group again on January 29. The FSEC wanted to offer an explanation of the Faculty Senate feedback regarding President Wohlpart. On January 30, the Board held a special meeting where the BOT AAC was charged with working with the FSEC to provide clarity around the Faculty Code and its alignment with the Shared Governance document. Trustee Charbonneau reminded the group that the Board approved the Shared Governance document in May 2025 and stated that all university policies and practices should be reviewed for alignment with the Shared Governance document. In July 2025, the Board approved the Faculty Code on an interim basis with the understanding that they would get an update in October on how the Faculty Code would be revised and updated using the Shared Governance document. The Faculty Code did not come forward again in October, so discussions have been ongoing for some time. The BOT AAC and the FSEC have had three meetings since January 30. They have developed a set of guiding principles to have respectful, open, and truthful communication between the BOT AAC and the FSEC and the rest of the university. In addition, they are conducting a fact-finding process to gather information needed to determine how to proceed with this alignment. This includes contacting representatives from other universities and reaching out to the Attorney General’s office. The group has looked at other expertise on policy alignment, and they are trying to determine how to engage other internal stakeholders in this process. Trustee Charbonneau added that the BOT AAC will not be making any final decisions in this work. Any decisions that need to be made will be brought to the entire board and discussed in an open public meeting. Some factors that the group is looking at include: • How do we align the Faculty Code with the Shared Governance document? • How do we align the Faculty Code with current fiscal realities and state and federal landscapes? • How do we ensure consistent, clear, and accurate communication? Trustee Charbonneau also explained that while many of the meetings of the BOT AAC will be devoted to the specific charge from January 30, they will need to focus on other work of the university to move things along. The entire board will get an update on this progress at the May meeting. o Provost’s Report (Patrick Pease) Provost Pease gave an update on the new structured scheduling system. The goals of doing this work include: • to increase retention and graduation rates for our students by supporting full, consistent course schedules. • to improve in-person opportunities for residential students. • to enhance orientation and support enrollment goals by ensuring that new incoming students have access to full schedules. • to clarify the academic pathways for four-year planning for students.
10 Board of Trustees Minutes February 19-20, 2026
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