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Dear Colleagues,

As we close out an eventful year for the Faculty Senate and shared governance, I would like to convey the salient accomplishments of this year. We have maintained a strong and steady presence for faculty representation in the multiple spaces occupied by shared governance in our university. This work was made possible by the steadfast contributions of countless faculty in all our schools/colleges and campuses, our office of shared governance, and our standing university faculty councils, ad hoc committees, and elected faculty councils. The momentum from prior years has been sustained and strengthened, and we leave this year in shared governance with some key legislative enhancements. We have also sown the seeds for future collaborations and legislative work and provided structure in the form of committees that will deliver legislative and non-legislative recommendations in the upcoming year.

LEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS from the Faculty Senate this year:

Parental leave听– amended the Faculty Code and Governance to establish the first parental leave policy for UW faculty, in collaboration with UW Human Resources. This policy provides for 90 continuous days of paid parental leave to birth as well as non-birth parents within a year of a qualifying event. The policy goes live on July 1, 2026, but administration and HR have agreed to allow retroactive effect from January 1, 2026. Comprehensive guidance and applicable request forms can be found on the

Retirement plan听鈥� A called on the administration to revisit the retirement plan vendor change that went into effect on Jan 1, 2026. We had multiple collaborative meetings to understand the deviations from the expected process and develop next steps. The President has agreed to a new request for proposals for the retirement vendor. This work will follow due process, starting this summer.

Tri-campus procedures听– brought the Faculty Code in alignment with the Executive Orders and with the Faculty Governance structures and appointment and promotion procedures at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma.

Promotion and tenure听– 听clarified voting hierarchy in elected faculty councils, allowing schools, colleges, and campuses to use non-hierarchical voting at the EFC level and permitting associate professors who serve as department chairs to evaluate candidates for promotion to full professor.

Undergraduate Learning Outcomes Committee听– amended the Scholastic Regulations to establish听 the framework for undergraduate learning outcomes and to create an Undergraduate Learning Outcomes Committee.

Academic freedom听– A听supported academic freedom for faculty in administrative roles.

For a full list of the legislation and resolutions passed by the Senate this year, please visit our听.

The legislative year was busy, with a total of 5 Class A鈥檚, 5 class B鈥檚, 4 class Cs. But not all shared governance efforts are legislative. Our 12 university faculty councils are key venues for shared governance and have been busy throughout the year assessing and improving things, where they can, for the faculty and the university. Each council includes faculty, a presidential designee, and staff.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FACULTY COUNCILS:

Faculty Council on Academic Standards – behind all the coordination of scholastic standards, one of the most prolific for Class B and student regulation related work. All except one item of Class B legislation has arisen from this council.

Faculty Council on Faculty Affairs – ultimate go-to council for all things related to faculty conditions of employment and work. All but one piece of Class A legislation proposed this year have come from this council that meets every fortnight and always has a full agenda.

Faculty Council on Tri-campus Policy – had a huge lift this year, in aligning the Faculty Code, recent Executive Orders, and practices related to promotion & tenure and shared governance at our UW Bothell and UW Tacoma campuses. This is a huge milestone in streamlining administrative processes and addressing the faculty鈥檚 need for clarity and acknowledgement.

Faculty Council on Teaching and Learning 鈥� the council that will coordinate everything that faculty say/think/want of AI in the university. Faculty are predominantly of a mind to think deeply about incorporating AI into their teaching and scholarship. FCTL will coordinate with the new AI@UW and Vice Provost for AI.

Faculty Council on Student Affairs 鈥� as long as we鈥檙e talking about AI, this council has generated a student-facing survey on their attitude towards AI, to be sent out shortly. They have also participated in discussions about student conduct policy and review.

Faculty Council on Gender, Equity, and Justice – has spent much of this year creating space for safe conversations and working with HR to create Class B legislation on parental leave policy and clarifying the policy on other types of faculty leave.

Faculty Council on Race, Equity, and Justice – has spent much of this year creating space for safe conversations and been a huge partner to the Senate leadership in meetings with the administration.

Faculty Council on Research – this year has focused on the ongoing challenges that research faculty are dealing with in the aftermath of Workday transition. The Office of Research and the upper administration have a group working on possible solutions.

Faculty Council on Benefits and Retirement – is one of our pivotal councils that produced a health benefits insurance comparator. This year, this council has been pivotal in our recognition of the failure of the process to move to a single retirement record keeper, and the council has partnered with Senate leadership to address this matter.

SHARED GOVERNANCE EVALUATION: To get a better idea of our self-perception and self-efficacy, we conducted a that yielded a reassuring picture of our work and purpose while highlighting areas for improvement.

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE:

In looking at mission-critical work that faculty shared governance needs to contemplate and organize into legislative and non-legislative action, the Senate Executive Committee has approved the following two ad hoc committees.

Ad hoc Committee on Faculty Dispute Resolution听鈥� to build on prior multi-year efforts to update and clarify the Faculty Code on faculty conduct and grievance procedures.

Ad hoc Committee on Shared Governance听鈥� to assess the current status and perform a gap analysis on shared governance mechanisms and suggest improvements.

I welcome your ongoing participation in our 鈥淭wo hours in my shoes鈥� project. This project was designed to enhance faculty鈥檚 awareness and connection with our many wonderful and innovative colleagues in other departments/schools/colleges/campuses. The idea for this project arose from my observations of the proverbial distances among us and partly because we all should meet the entirely amazing and fun colleagues who, each in their own way, are the fundamental reason this university exists. This project is currently in its third phase, and we welcome all faculty to self-nominate for this fun, cross-connection program.听 We will continue to accept faculty at any time, but next phases will include administrators and staff, and potentially community members and donors. 鈥� we would love to share this project with you, build and strengthen our connections.

Collective progress requires many heads and many shoulders. I want to thank all my colleagues in the Office of Shared Governance, our university faculty councils, elected faculty councils, and the many faculty who contribute in committees and think-tanks and who create for us a powerful present moment and an even stronger future.

The Office of Shared Governance continues its work over the summer. I will be writing many letters of support specifying the university service contributions of our colleagues. The Senate Executive Committee can still be called upon to convene and opine on behalf of the Senate and all faculty.

Please let me know if you have any questions, or observations/suggestions. As a final disclaimer, I have to share, rather impishly, that I have not used any AI help to craft any of my letters/communications/responses during the course of my duties as Chair of the Faculty Senate. It is not that I am a non-adopter, but rather setting the tone for clear attribution 馃槉. It has been an honor and privilege to serve the University in this role. Thank you for your trust,听 your support and your grace.

With warm wishes for a wonderful summer,

Aarti Bhat

Faculty Council on Benefits and Retirement听–听 Discussed the importance of volunteers working over the summer on the retirement letter, health letter, and health comparison tool. They also discussed items that should be worked on next year.

Faculty Council on Tri-campus Policy听– Met in person and discussed the end of year work, along with items of discussion for the next year.

Faculty Council on Students Affairs听– They had quorum on and off throughout the meeting. Jason Johnson joined to discuss the student code of conduct changes. They also discussed items for next year.

Faculty Council on Research听– Again quorum on and off. Meredith Reynolds joined the council to discuss evaluating proposed changes to IP ownership in the MRA. Helen Chu joined to discuss research administration operations and centralization. Finally, Sophie Pierszalowski joined the council to discuss faculty mentorship trainings.

Faculty Council on Campus Planning and Stewardship听– They had a quick meeting where they went over the charge letter from the previous year and outlined items they would like to continue.

Faculty Council on Academic Standards听– They discussed items of importance for next year’s work and returned to the topic of if FCAS is truly tri-campus and if not, how do they make it tri-campus.

The Faculty Council on University Libraries received an update from the libraries regarding the financial situation and collections. There was also discussion of topics to work on next year.

The Faculty Council on Teaching and Learning met and had an update from Mary Kay Gugerty and Joseph Tennis on the working group for guidance on student evaluations of teaching. They also had an update from Casey Self and Chris Zempel about the UW Bookstore first day access program. They then received an update from the collegial review subcommittee and began planning for next year.

Faculty Council on Student Affairs – Discussed and finalized the AI survey for students.

Faculty Council on Campus Planning and Stewardship – They had Jed Bradley and John Wetzel join the council to discuss the capital budget and Clay Amann join to discuss housing and food services.

Faculty Council on Faculty Affairs听– Quorum was not met until around 30 minutes into the meeting. The council discussed Faculty Code 22-60 B.9 and Faculty Code 24-34 A.3. No votes were made.

Faculty Council on Academic Standards – They had a large presentation from Tina Miller on the grading survey results. There was also discussion on how to help students “cross the husky finish line”.

Faculty Council on Benefits and Retirement – discussed the potential survey regarding TIAA and proposed amendments to the retirement plan.

Faculty Council on Tri-campus Policy – they have been working on a document discussing “How EFC’s work on each campus” and the upcoming undergraduate learning outcomes legislation.

Faculty Council on Gender, Equity, and Justice – discussed the recent SEC meeting and the impact on their parental leave legislation. They also had a member from APF in to discuss their opinions on the legislation.

Faculty Senate Meeting Summary, 4/30/26

Dear Colleagues,

Please see below for a report on the Senate meeting held on April 30, 2026. As always, full text of remarks and reports can be found in the agenda.

New Business

Class A Legislation 鈥� Aligning the Faculty Code with Executive Orders, Faculty Governance, and Appointment Procedures at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma: Senators passed this legislation on second consideration. This legislation aligns the Faculty Code with Executive Orders 71 and 72. It is currently out for faculty vote until May 15, 2026.

Class A Legislation 鈥� Elected Faculty Council Bylaws: Senators passed this legislation on first consideration, and it will now go back to the Senate Executive Committee on May 18, 2026, for further review. The legislation would update the process for revising EFC bylaws, specify rights in operations and communications between the EFC and faculty, and add removal procedures.

Class B Legislation 鈥� Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: Senators passed this Class B legislation and it was sent to faculty for objections with a deadline of May 15, 2026. The legislation establishes that UW has learning outcomes that all undergraduate students are intended to meet by completion of their bachelor鈥檚 degree. A faculty led Undergraduate Learning Outcomes Committee will provide the governance structure to oversee this work and partner with institutional work to support university accreditation.

Class C Resolution 鈥� Academic Freedom for Faculty in Administrative Leadership Roles: This resolution calls on the administration to provide clarification on policies related to academic freedom, communication with mailing lists, procedures to remove faculty from leadership roles, and whether academic freedom protections extend to faculty serving in administrative leadership roles. It also reaffirms the Faculty Senate鈥檚 commitment to academic freedom.

The Faculty Senate will meet again on May 18. The meeting schedule can be found on our website.

Legislation passed and under consideration can also be found on our website.

The Faculty Council on Faculty Affairs got an update from APF about the FCGEJ legislation on faculty leave. They then discussed legislation on EFC bylaws in Section 23-46 and it was approved with minor changes. There was then discussion of what the council should work on throughout the rest of the year.

 

The Faculty Council on Academic Standards discussed the Undergraduate Learning Outcomes legislation and if the council had the bandwidth/want to push the options legislation through this year.

The Faculty Council on Information Technology and Cybersecurity met and听discussed a situation where an administrator accessed a previous (Summer 2024) Canvas course, seemingly out of the blue. There was discussion of if that should be allowed, why they may access the course, and how admin could be more transparent about the process. They also had two guests in to discuss the Husky OnNet VPN service.

Faculty Council on Student Affairs met and discussed their Generative AI survey which should be distributed in the Fall of next year.

Faculty Council on University Libraries received a libraries Budget Update from Denise Pan & Simon Neame, along with a presentation on AI literacy in the libraries and university as a whole.

Faculty Council Teaching and Learning received a presentation on Libraries Open Education Resources and approved the undergraduate learning outcomes legislation; however, they will not be bringing it to the SEC since Senate leadership decided it fell into FCAS’s purview.

Faculty Council on Faculty Affairs passed legislation on EFC bylaws and Sections 23-45 and received an update on merit, promotion, and sabbatical from the Office of Academic Personnel and Faculty.

Faculty Council on Academic Standards passed the undergraduate learning outcomes legislation and there was discussion of the rationale and how the chair would present to the Senate.

Faculty Senate Meeting Summary, 4/2/26

Dear Colleagues,

I鈥檓 writing with a report on the Senate meeting held on April 2, 2026. As always, full text of remarks and reports can be found in the agenda.

Senate Chair鈥檚 Remarks

Chair Bhat gave updates on these initiatives:

• Paid parental leave 鈥� the Faculty Council on Gender, Equity, and Justice passed Class B legislation regarding faculty leave, including paid parental leave. The legislation will come before the Senate Executive Committee on April 20 and the Faculty Senate on April 30.
• The strategic plan is seeking feedback on the current draft by April 17.

President Jones鈥� Remarks

The President highlighted several key updates, including the release of the campus climate survey by VP Hall and his team. He noted that releasing the data is not the final step, but rather the beginning of a process to analyze the findings and determine actions to improve the campus environment. Although participation in the survey was lower than anticipated, the data is still considered meaningful, particularly in identifying whether members of the community may not be thriving. VP Hall is expected to present the survey results to the Senate Executive Committee. The President also expressed appreciation to the team that led the development of the strategic plan, noting that a draft has been released and now requires further structure and refinement. Units across campus are encouraged to engage in discussions about the plan, with a timeline leading to a presentation to the Board by April 17 for endorsement, after which implementation can move forward.

New Business

Nomination and Presentation of Candidates for 2026-2027 Faculty Legislative Representative: Professor Beth Ebel and Professor Jacob Vigdor were the nominees for Faculty Legislative Representative. They both gave a presentation at the Senate and the election results will be announced on April 10.

Nomination and Presentation of Candidates for 2026-2027 Deputy Faculty Legislative Representative: Professors Jonathan Medverd, Jonathan Warren, Dana Raigrodski, and Mike Teodoresecu were the nominees for Deputy Faculty Legislative Representative. They all gave a presentation at the Senate and the election results will be announced on April 10.

Class A Legislation 鈥� Chair鈥檚 or Dean鈥檚 Designee in Discussion of Allegations against Faculty Member: Senators passed this legislation on second consideration and it was sent to faculty for vote on April 3. This legislation permits the chair (or dean in an undepartmentalized school of college) to designate an administrator with a faculty appointment to hold the meeting with the faculty member who is alleged to have violated a rule or regulation.

Class A Legislation 鈥� Aligning the Faculty Code with Executive Orders, Faculty Governance, and Appointment Procedures at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma: Senators passed this legislation on first consideration and it will now go back to the Senate Executive Committee for another review. This legislation aligns the Faculty Code with Executive Orders 71 and 72.听

Class B Legislation 鈥� Updating Grading Definitions. Senators passed this Class B legislation and it was sent to faculty for objections on April 3.. The legislation updates grade definitions for the School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, School of Law, School of Pharmacy, and Graduate School.

Digital Accessibility

1. Increased PDF guidance and remediation support — The provides guidance for PDFs, replacing them with accessible alternatives, and what to do if you can鈥檛, and announces a new PDF remediation tool: 鈥�Little Forest.鈥�
2. A new accessibility checker for Google — 鈥溾�� is an add-on that can check Google docs, slides, and sheets.
3. Labeling past courses 鈥淎rchive鈥� — are now live for courses Winter 2026 or earlier.
4. A new process reviews software for accessibility or eligibility for an exception. See the Digital Product Accessibility Review page for details.

Whether you鈥檙e just getting started or well on your way, please take advantage of webpage and upcoming events organized by Accessible Technology Services.

The Faculty Senate will meet again on April 30. The meeting schedule can be found on our website.

Legislation passed and under consideration can also be found on our website.

With appreciation for all you do,

Rania Hussein, Vice Chair, Faculty Senate