BFA elections; faculty

Fall 2024 BFA External Elections - Call for Nominations

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 19:28:24 +0000

Fall 2024 BFA External Elections - Call for Nominations Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 09/08/2024 - 13:28

Fall 2024 BFA Elections – External

Call for Nominations

September 9, 2024

The external phase of BFA Fall elections are now underway. The nomination process begins on Monday, September 9, 2024, and continues through Wednesday, September 18^th. Once nominations have closed, the current representatives of the General Assembly will vote on the nominees; this election will take place between September 19-20.

I strongly encourage you to consider nominating yourself or a colleague to a standing committee. BFA Standing Committees undertake important work on behalf of the faculty and others in the community on the CU �鶹ӰԺ campus. Also included in these elections are the open CU Faculty Council seats for �鶹ӰԺ faculty. The chart below indicates available Committee seats.

________________________________________

Number of BFA standing committee seats up for election, by affiliation:

Academic Affairs Committee: A&S or Non-A&S: 1
Administrative Technologies and Services Committee: A&S: 1; Non-A&S: 1
Administrator Appraisal Committee: A&S or Non-A&S: 1
Campus Operations & Resources Committee: A&S: 3
Climate Science and Education Committee: A&S: 1; Non-A&S: 2
Faculty Affairs Committee: A&S: 2; Non-A&S: 2
Grievance Advisory Committee: A&S or Non-A&S: 2
Student Affairs Committee: A&S: 1; Non-A&S: 1

Number of CU Faculty Council committee seats up for election (Affiliation: CU �鶹ӰԺ)

________________________________________

Check our Elections webpage and Committees webpage for information on elections, committee charges, composition, etc.

Nomination email packets should include:

1. affiliation (A&S or Non-A&S), home department/unit, and contact details;

3. brief statement of interest in serving on the committee (1-2 sentences max)

4. an e-mail header containing the phrase "BFA Election Nomination"

Please email your nomination packet(s) to bfa@colorado.edu by 11:59 p.m., Wednesday, September 18, 2024. Elections are completed by Assembly members on September 20, 2024.

Nominees will be notified by email when election results are available. The election results will also be posted on the BFA web page.

Sincerely,

Vicki Grove

BFA Secretary and Chair, BFA Nominations and Elections Committee

�鶹ӰԺ Faculty Assembly (BFA)

Email: bfa@colorado.edu

*Non-A&S units include Business, CMCI, Education, Engineering, ENVD, Law School, Libraries, and Music

Who's eligible to run and serve on �鶹ӰԺ and CU system shared faculty governance bodies?

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General Assembly April 4, 2024 Meeting

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 14:33:37 +0000

General Assembly April 4, 2024 Meeting Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/05/2024 - 08:33

The BFA held it's regular monthly meeting on April 4, 2024 via Zoom. Chancellor DiStefano was on hand to address faculty for the final time as CU �鶹ӰԺ Chancellor. Areas on his mind as the academic year is wrapping up included a concern about academic freedom in light of recent events this year as well as upcoming elections. DiStefano encouraged faculty to be empathetic and to remain open to civic discussion around hard topics. He emphasized that democracy is fragile but that CU �鶹ӰԺ has a critical role to play in educating tomorrow's leaders. During questions from members, DiStefano also said an important concern was the public perception of higher education.

When asked about things over his tenure at CU that he’s most proud of, the chancellor noted that shared governance is unique to higher education and that he's appreciated the guidance from the BFA along with other campus bodies that he's worked with over the years. DiStefano told members that he has great pride in where �鶹ӰԺ stands in relation to AAU peers and gives credit to faculty in particular for their work over the last fifteen years in research, scholarship and creative work. Additionally, he noted that during his time as Provost, he was also proud of work done with the BFA to begin improving conditions for instructors. In particular he noted the efforts of Cathy Comstock and Rolf Norgaard on the Instructor Bill of Rights. DiStefano also noted that previously fundraising in his role was not a main focus, but that through his efforts he more than doubled the amounts and noted that fundraising would continue to play a key role in the future.

Lastly, the chancellor told members that he’s looking forward to returning to the faculty and noted that back in the day he had been an original member of the BFA (known as the Faculty Council at that time). DiStefano received many thanks from representatives for his work at CU in both the room and chat.

Dr. D’Andra Mull, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, who joined campus last fall, reviewed the student affairs organization and the role they all play in the student experience. The mission of Student Affairs (SA) mission is to “..create a comprehensively excellent student experience through the development of dynamic programs, services and support structures that prepare Buffs to thrive as lifelong learners in a globally engaged society.” To achieve this her office is focused on student development through engagement, belonging, academic support, and high-impact practices. Mull walked members through an organizational chart designed to give faculty a better understanding of who they can go to for specific issues and how to contact them. Associate Vice Chancellor, Dr. Joe Thomas also spoke with members about his role in connecting and aligning Student Affairs with faculty and academics. He partners with Undergraduate Education on the common curriculum and other high impact programs with Buffs Undergraduate Success (BUS) group. Both Mull and Thomas encouraged faculty to reach out to them directly with any questions.

BFA Chair Miller introduced a resolution on behalf of the Executive Committee BFA-R-1-030424 to recommend that Academic Affairs form a working group next fall to review issues, benefits, and alternatives to the anonymous open comment section currently on the FCQs. Per CU Administrative Policy Statement (APS) 1009 any changes to campus FCQs must include input by faculty and students appointed by shared governance bodies. Concerns regarding the open comment section include: a lack of support and follow-up when students anonymously report misconduct violations instead of utilizing campus reporting procedures, as well as well-established data showing a negative impact on women and under-represented faculty from student biases in anonymous comments. Conversely, many faculty, including the BFA Diversity and Academic Affairs committees support the use of anonymous comments for constructive student feedback for courses and instructors. The BFA Executive Committee supports a full review of the issue and asks that the working group making recommendations to the Provost on the following:

Would the removal of the open comment section be an overall benefit or cost to both faculty and students?
What additions or changes to the FCQs should be made to provide students with the proper resources and information on reporting inappropriate behavior and alerting them to campus support services?
Should the university create an inventory of recommended practices for faculty to collect student feedback on courses and teaching methods that is reviewed annually and notes potential bias issues, and if so, how should this inventory be created and publicized?

The motion is under consideration for thirty days and will be voted on at the May 2 meeting. Representatives are asked to share the resolution with constituents and send all feedback and questions to Shelly Miller at: bfa@colorado.edu.

Lastly, Assembly members heard more about the CU Book Access program for course materials introduced last year. CU Bookstore Director Jessica Carlsen along with Assistant Director Matt Avena, and the Redshelf VP of Product, Tim Shea gave faculty an overview of the program. Goals include ensuring that students have materials on the first day of class, reducing the cost to students - in particular in certain fields, and committing to a reduction in the environmental costs associated with printing thousands of books each semester. Carlsen noted that the high success of the program has already allowed CU to lower the subscription price for all students. Representatives noted issues for faculty included a need for publishers to provide greater useability and to make offerings more faculty focused. Examples included issues like page number confusion between digital and hard copies as well as problems with annotations. Several faculty also pointed to “digital fatigue” that their students were experiencing. Shea welcomed faculty feedback and questions as they continued to improve the system. Carlson stressed that faculty are strongly encouraged to choose whatever course materials are best for their classrooms and noted that the cost of printed over digital will not affect students opting into the program. However Carlsen did want faculty to be aware that most publishers have greatly reduced the availability of printed materials which also impacts the availability of pre-owned items. Avena also offered a potential solution for students to request official photocopies of pages for a few dollars in case they found it useful to have both the digital and hard versions. See the presentation slides and email questions to bfa@colorado.edu and they will be forwarded to Carlsen’s group.

In conclusion BFA Chair Shelly Miller reminded members of the following BFA items:

Chancellor Finalist Survey – Please complete the chancellor finalist survey by Tuesday April 9: https://www.cu.edu/boulder-chancellor-search/finalist-campus-visits
BFA Officer Elections – Nominations are open until April 15. Elections take place via Qualtrics during May 2 Assembly. See the nominations page for details: /bfa/get-involved/elections
Join us for the 2024 Excellence Awards Ceremony on April 18 at 4:30pm – Open to campus. RSVP here /bfa/excellence-awards/2024-excellence-awards-ceremony
Climate Course Inventory Fellow – Applications open through Friday, May 3! /bfa/2024/03/20/climate-sustainability-faculty-working-group-leader-call-applications

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BFA May 4, 2023 Assembly Meeting

Anonymous — Mon, 08 May 2023 18:42:25 +0000

BFA May 4, 2023 Assembly Meeting Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/08/2023 - 12:42

The BFA held it's final meeting of the year in the Chancellor's Hall/Auditorium in the CASE Building on Thursday, May 4, 2023. The meeting began with the annual recognition of the Faculty 50 Years of Service awards sponsored by the Office of Faculty Affairs and the �鶹ӰԺ Faculty Assembly. Provost Moore congratulated each faculty member presented them with commemorative gifts honoring the occasion. This year's honorees were:

Wayne Boss, Professor - Organization Leadership & Information Analytics
Marvin Caruthers, Distinguished Professor - Biochemistry
Steven Maier, Distinguished Professor – Psychology & Neuroscience

Provost Moore then addressed Assembly members and reviewed highlights from Academic Affairs during AY22-23. Moore highlighted several items including the receipt of the Faculty Salary Procedures Working Group report and collaboration with the BFA on the approval and implementation of the Common Curriculum. Discussion included concerns regarding promoting long-time lecturers to teaching faculty positions, reduced faculty pay rates when teaching Maymester & Augmester, and concerns regarding the equity impacts related to the new Budget Model. Moore said that the first two items were college/school level decisions, but also said that pending changes to APS 5060 Faculty Appointments could make it easier for units to promote lecturers. Regarding the campus supplemental funds, Moore stressed that units should be focused on better utilization of core funding and current reserves within colleges/schools.

BFA Chair Tiffany Beechy then transferred the gavel to BFA Vice Chair Alastair Norcross to lead the annual meeting of the faculty senate.* Norcross thanked Beechy for her service as BFA Chair. Members then heard from two campus groups with updates on projects:

Buff Undergraduate Success Update - Sr. Vice Provost Katherine Eggert and Joe Thomas, AVC Student Affairs updated members on this campus project designed to increase student graduation and retention rates. While campus hit a 33-year high for first year retention rates, overall graduation rates of 70% are still well below AAU public average of 82.5%. Eggert and Thomas reviewed a variety of efforts underway to improve both areas. Some highlights included the grade replacement opt-in numbers increasing in particular with Pell grant, First Gen, and under-represented students who were also able to improve average class grade from a D to B-. Also of impact has been the Basic Needs department that has been able to provide food, housing assistance, and other support. Member feedback included concerns around messaging to students around overcommittment and student scheduling, working to shift the mentality around failing courses with grade replacement, and issues around the availability and use of the campus Testing Center. Handouts included: BUS Update Presentation Slides and a SP23 BUS Update Handout

Campus Libraries Catalog and Search Changes - Dean Robert McDonald, Assistant Dean Jamie Wittenberg, and Libraries Faculty Council Chair & Access/Discovery Librarian Nicole Trujillo gave an overview about updated search or discovery tools including a new interface called Folio for the library catalog that will be put in place this summer. Campus libraries will also now have shared catalog with CU Law library. The Prospector service will be paused while campus transitions to Folio. CU joins many AU peers who are already using Folio and allows for greater collaboration and open access. Faculty were encouraged to send feedback and questions to bfa@colorado.edu.

The final portion of the meeting focused on two BFA measures that were up for a vote:

BFA-R-1-040323 – CU �鶹ӰԺ Faculty Senate Constitution - Members approved the resolution which endorses the draft constitution and refers the item to the �鶹ӰԺ Faculty Senate for formal consideration in fall 2023.
- CU �鶹ӰԺ Faculty Senate Constitution - Final Draft
BFA-R-2-040323 – Resolution Re: Campus Curriculum Policy & Procedures - After discussion members approved amendments to the resolution which included a reference to Regent Law Article V noting that the faculty have the principal responsibility for decisions regarding curriculum** and a final Be it Further Resolved section to further define the committee role and procedures. The below draft will now be reviewed by the Deans Council for input and recommendations before being sent to the Provost for final review.
- Campus Curriculum Policy & Procedures -Draft

The meeting concluded with BFA Secretary Vicki Grove announcing Shelly Miller as the new BFA Chair with a two-year term beginning July 1, 2023 and ending June 30, 2025.

*All BFA Assembly meetings are open to campus faculty members, however the annual Faculty Senate meeting is the official meeting of the BFA and the �鶹ӰԺ Faculty Senate.

**Article 5.A.1. B Faculty Governance - Principle of Shared Governance - Tenured and tenure-track faculty with appropriate participation by instructional, research, and clinical faculty have the principal responsibility for decisions concerning pedagogy, curriculum, research, scholarly or creative work, academic ethics, and recommendations on the selection and evaluation of faculty. The development of general academic policies shall be a collaborative effort between the faculty and administration.

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Fall 2022 - BFA External Elections - Call for Nominations

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 18:11:30 +0000

Fall 2022 - BFA External Elections - Call for Nominations Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/06/2022 - 12:11

The �鶹ӰԺ Faculty Assembly is pleased to announce the external elections for fall 2022. External elections are open to all CU �鶹ӰԺ eligible faculty for seat vacancies on BFA standing committees. For more information on specific committees, you can find details on the committee charge, annual reports, and more on the committe webpage. Nominations should be sent to BFA Secretary Vicki Grove at: bfa@colorado.edu by Tuesday, September 13th before midnight.

Please see BFA Secretary Vicki Grove's Call for Nominations for full details on seat vacancies and nomination packets.

The BFA Elections webpage has more details on dates and elections for all the above items. For any questions, please email: bfa@colorado.edu

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Spring 2022 BFA At-Large Representatives Elections - Call for Nominations

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 19:02:48 +0000

Spring 2022 BFA At-Large Representatives Elections - Call for Nominations Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/03/2022 - 12:02

Elections for BFA Assembly At-Large Representatives occur each year during February and March. At-Large Representative seats are open to all eligible campus faculty and are voted on by the full faculty senate. Non-A&S units include: Leeds School of Business, College of Engineering, College of Media, Communication, and Information (CMCI), CU Law, School of Education, Campus Libraries, Environmental Design, and the College of Music.

Please see the Call for Nominations letter from BFA Secretary Adam Norris for complete details on how to nominate yourself or colleagues for these seat openings. For details on elections, see the BFA elections webpage for more information.

The following seats vacancies will be open for spring 2022 elections:

2 At-Large Arts & Sciences Representatives T/TT seats
2 At-Large Non-A&S Reperesentative T/TT seats
1 At-Large A&S or Non-A&S Instructor Representative seat

2022 Election dates:

Nominations open from February 3 - 17, 2022
Qualtrics elections from February 24-March 5, 2022

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BFA Fall 2020 Election Results

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 21:25:08 +0000

BFA Fall 2020 Election Results Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/01/2020 - 15:25

The 2020 elections to fill vacancies on BFA Standing Committees is complete. Elections were conducted in two phases: Phase I - just for BFA representatives and Phase II - open to all eligible campus faculty. We'd like to congratulate the new committee members and thank everyone for their participation.

Fall 2020 BFA Standing Committee Election Results

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BFA External Committee Elections: Call for Nominations

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 16:43:27 +0000

BFA External Committee Elections: Call for Nominations Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/08/2020 - 10:43

The External Phase of BFA Standing Committee elections is now open. All eligible* CU �鶹ӰԺ faculty are welcome to self-nominate or be nominated for seat vacancies.

Please see the Call for Nominations letter by BFA Secretary Adam Norris for complete information.

To learn more about BFA Standing Committees you can review each committee's web page. See these pages to learn more about BFA Elections or How to Become a Member. Nominees will be voted on by BFA General Assembly voting members.

Dates for the External Phase are as follows:

Nominations Accepted: Tuesday, September 8 through Sunday, September 13
Elections: Tuesday, September 15th through Thursday September 17th

Please send nominations/self-nominations or any questions addressed to Adam Norris at: bfa@colorado.edu

*Regent Law Article V defines eligible faculty senate members. See Who Is Eligible to Serve? as well as the above letter from BFA Secretary Adam Norris for specifics.

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Fall 2019 BFA External Elections for Committee Seat Vacancies

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 18:32:00 +0000

Fall 2019 BFA External Elections for Committee Seat Vacancies Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2019 - 12:32

Nominations are now being accepted for BFA standing committee seat vacancies. An email from BFA Secretary Adam Norris was sent to all campus faculty to inform them of the vacancies that are open, along with information on how to nominate yourself or a colleague. See the letter for complete details. For more information on how to become part of the BFA see the Get Involved page. Feel free to contact us for any questions: bfa@colorado.edu.

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2019 Internal Elections - BFA Standing Committee Vacancies

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 17:09:40 +0000

2019 Internal Elections - BFA Standing Committee Vacancies Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/05/2019 - 11:09

Please see the official letter from BFA Secretary Adam Norris regarding nominations and elections for BFA standing committee seat vacancies. You may contact Adam directly for nominations and for any questions. Additionally, please mark your calendars for the following dates:

2019-20 Elections for BFA Standing Committee Seat Vacancies

Phase I – Internal to BFA Reps only

Aug. 26 – Sept. 3^rd - Nominations & self-nominations accepted
Sept. 4^th – 7^th – Internal elections will occur via written ballot at the September 5 Assembly meeting

Phase II – External - Open to all eligible campus faculty

September 9 – 15 – Nominations & self-nominations accepted
September 16 – 21 – Campus-wide elections via Qualtrics

Thursday, September 5^th - First General Assembly Meeting of the year – CU Law School, room 207

For more information on Becoming A Member

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BFA Spring 2019 Elections

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 22:34:43 +0000

BFA Spring 2019 Elections Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/11/2019 - 16:34

The BFA Nominations and Elections Committee would like to announce the 2019 elections for At-Large Representatives for the CU �鶹ӰԺ Faculty Senate. This is an important opportunity for you to participate in the faculty governance process at CU. There are four At-Large Representative seats open:

At-Large Arts & Sciences Representative - 2 seats available
At-Large Instructor Representative - 2 seats available

See BFA Elections for further information

Nominations will be accepted from March 8 - 15, 2019
Elections via Qualtrics run from March 18 - 22, 2019

Please feel free to nominate yourself and/or your colleagues. See the letter from BFA Secretary Adam Norris for complete nomination instructions. Nominees and nominators must be members of the �鶹ӰԺ Faculty Senate. All terms are for three years. Learn more about the nomination process and who is eligible for nomination.

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