The Faculty Council has had a busy year. Thank you to my fellow officers for their commitment and work. 

Chair Elect - Diana White 

Secretary - Monica Yoo 

Immediate-Past Chair - Alastair Norcross 

and the leaders of the four campus assemblies -  

Anschutz - Greg Kinney,  

Boulder, Alastair Norcross,  

Colorado Springs - David Havlick,  

and Denver - Wendy Bolyard 

I also send a big thank you to all the committees and their chairs for all of their work this year. The work of Faculty Council and shared governance overall is only possible because of the commitment, time, energy, and service of the CU faculty from across all of our campuses. And a big thank you to Leigh Ann Rutherford, Faculty Council Administrator, for all her work and support, without whom the Faculty Council could not operate. 

The Faculty Council addressed many issues and faculty concerns over the course of this academic year including how to respond to federal and state budget developments and their impacts on CU, opportunities for faculty to be involved in the Strategic Planning process, and faculty concerns around constraints on academic freedom and freedom of expression from federal mandates and executive orders. Faculty Council continued to advocate for academic freedom and freedom of expression which are protected in regent law and policy, and these were elevated and strongly supported by President Saliman and Regent Chair Rennison at the September Board of Regents meeting. The Faculty Council continued its work to make CU is among the best places to work and to increase recruitment and retention.  

At its September meeting, the Faculty Council approved a proposal from the Faculty Council Committee on Personnel and Benefits with recommendations for changes to Administrative Policy Statement 5014 (“Tuition Assistance Benefit”), to expand the benefit to be more comparable to that of peer institutions and equitable across campuses. Work with CU System administration is ongoing to make these efforts come to fruition. In addition, Faculty Council approved shared governance representation from the CU campuses on the CU System Sustainability Committee as we remain committed and work to position CU to be a leader in addressing the evolving sustainability challenges we face.  

At the November meeting, the Faculty Council approved two resolutions in response to continued concerns around federal intrusions on academic freedom.  The first resolution calls for President Saliman and the Board of Regents to support the establishment of a “mutual defense compact” of Colorado institutions of higher education. The second resolution calls for President Saliman and the Board of Regents to reject participation in the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” proposed by the federal government.  

At the January meeting, the Faculty Council welcomed CFO Chad Marturano and Rebecca Massey, Senior Advisor for State Relations & Public Policy, for a budget and legislative update. As a part of these efforts, leaders from faculty shared governance, staff shared governance, and student government joined President Saliman and Regent Chair Rennison to testify before the Joint Budget Committee of the State Legislatures on the importance of state funding for higher education.  

At the February meeting, the Faculty Council welcomed Senior Vice President for Internal Operations and Chief of Staff, Leonard Dinegar and Chief Information Officer Scott Munson to discuss the acquisition and implementation of the CU specific version of ChatGPT EDU and issues around the use of Artificial Intelligence across the CU system more broadly. Discussion and collaboration between Faculty Council, President Saliman, and CU administration regarding the potential impact of implementing ChatGPT by the initial rollout date of March 31st resulted in the rollout being pushed back to Aug 14th, and the formation of AI advisory groups which include faculty shared governance participation on each of the campuses. 

At the April meeting, the Faculty Council charged a Faculty Council AI working group to bring together representatives from the campus advisory groups, campus shared governance, and Faculty Council to review and synthesize campus level input on AI and advise Faculty Council and administration on issues related to AI. In addition, in response to multiple campus shared governance groups forming ad hoc working groups to gather, study and consider questions around collective bargaining, the Faculty Council charged a Faculty Council Collective Bargaining working group to bring together representatives from the campus collective bargaining working groups, campus shared governance, and Faculty Council to convene and share information, understand campus conditions, and to consider system level impacts of collective bargaining. The work of these groups will continue through the summer and into the next academic year. Faculty Council has also continued work to expand the Faculty Housing Assistance Program to IRC faculty and a working group will be working with CU administration through the summer to have the expanded program ready for implementation in the 2026-2027 academic year. 

Finally, I am pleased to announce Jeffrey Shrader as the recipient of the 2026 Faculty Council Distinguished Service award for his many years of service to shared governance and the care he brings to make sure that CU follows policy and for continually advocating for faculty shared governance and for faculty voice.  

I am also excited to announce and to welcome the incoming leadership team for the Faculty Council for 2026-2027: 

Chair- Diana White (Denver),  

Chair-Elect - Greg Kinney (Anschutz),  

Secretary - Monica Yoo (Colorado Springs),  

Immediate Past-Chair - Jorge Chavez (Denver).  

As we wrap up the academic year, I am uplifted as the faculty continue to guide and support our students in the classroom, in their internships or field placements, through their final exams, and as they serve the state of Colorado, and I look forward to celebrating with the nearly 15,000 CU graduates recognized at commencement ceremonies this May. I thank all faculty at CU for the work they do in guiding and supporting the educational journeys of our students. Shared governance works best when there is open communication, and I encourage you to contact the Faculty Council or the Campus Faculty Assemblies to ask questions and share your concerns on any issue of shared governance. And please consider serving in shared governance roles on your campus or at the system level.  

Thank you! 

Jorge M Chavez 

Faculty Council Chair