December 2025 Faculty Senate Newsletter

Published Dec 16, 2025 by

Rachel Baker

Filed under:

Faculty Senate Newsletter

Featured

60 Years of Faculty Senate: Partaking in the Decisional Mainstream of the College Community

In this, the final entry in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Faculty Senate, let us reflect on the reason that the Faculty Senate was established at ECU®. In 1964, President Jenkins noted at convocation that during the reaccreditation process, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools said the faculty needed to be more involved in “’the decisional mainstream’ of the college community” (Tucker, 2015). The Faculty Senate was thereafter created in response to that feedback, and faculty have done their part to stay involved ever since.

Each Faculty Senate meeting renders the commitment of faculty and administration to shared governance visible with each question posed and policy proposed. This steady evidence prompts faculty to continue doing their part as they craft policy and revisions to processes within our committees and submit them to the scrutiny of their colleagues and administration. Faculty Senate continues because shared governance is the path to achieving the shared goals of the success of the institution as a whole.

Thank you for celebrating our 60th anniversary. We would also like to express a special thanks to those who work to maintain and add to the ECU Digital Collections, especially the ECU History section. Many documents, photos, and files from that collection were accessed when researching Faculty Senate history for the celebration and newsletter.

What’s New

Chancellor’s Action on Faculty Senate Resolutions

The Chancellor recently acted on resolutions from the November 4, 2025 Faculty Senate meeting. Resolution #25-74, which involved revisions to Part VIII.I.IV Faculty Success Plan were held so they could be reviewed at the same time as related revisions to the Faculty Success Plan subsection of Part IX, Section II. Performance Review of Tenured Faculty. The Part IX revisions were sent to the Chancellor after the December 2nd Faculty Senate meeting, so action on those resolutions should come soon.

The Chancellor approved revisions to Part III.III East Carolina University Faculty Assembly Delegation. These revisions aligned with updates to the UNC Faculty Assembly Bylaws. The biggest change affects eligibility for Faculty Assembly service at ECU. Previously, only full-time faculty with no administrative duties outside their department were eligible to serve, but now all full-time faculty are eligible.

Reminders

Call for Faculty Assembly Volunteers

The Committee on Committees is seeking faculty volunteers for two delegates and two alternates for upcoming open seats on the 2026-2027 UNC Faculty Assembly. Service begins July 1, 2026. Volunteers should be full-time faculty. In addition to attending the six yearly meetings of the UNC Faculty Assembly, the delegates are expected to attend and report at the eight monthly meetings of the Faculty Senate and Agenda Committee (Faculty Senate meetings are in-person). Everyone wishing to volunteer is asked to complete the Faculty Assembly Volunteer survey no later than Monday, January 5, 2026.

The Committee on Committees will provide the Faculty Senate with a list of nominees for consideration during their January 27, 2026 meeting. Please direct any questions to Professor Michael Daniels, chair of the committee, via email.

Call for Faculty Senate Committee Volunteers

The Faculty Senate and its Committee on Committees is soliciting volunteers willing to contribute to Shared Governance at ECU and fulfill faculty Service responsibilities by serving on Faculty Senate Committees. The work of Faculty Senate Committees is vital to ensuring a faculty voice in the affairs of the university, and we invite you to join us in this important and rewarding work All tenured, tenure-track and fixed-term faculty in at least their second consecutive year of full-time employment are eligible to volunteer. Note: this means that if you are beginning your second consecutive year in 2026, you may fill out the survey because you will be in your second year by the time your service period begins. The Committee on Committees seeks to ensure that committee membership reflects a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, and they strongly encourage interest from faculty members of any rank or title, across all colleges and schools.

To inform your decision, click on the links below where you may view your current committee service and available opportunities:

Current Committee Rosters (all terms listed as “2026” are expiring at the end of spring 2026 or just before Fall 2026 and faculty may serve two consecutive terms)
Recording: Beyond Your Unit OFE session – University Committees and Faculty Service
Descriptions of Committees (includes the days they meet)
Committees by Topic

To ensure the Committee on Committees considers your service preferences, please complete the short AY 2026/27 volunteer preference form.

Information collected through this call will be used to nominate faculty members to fill committee vacancies, and aid in the selection of wide representation for current and future task forces, subcommittees and working groups.  Committee members are elected to staggered three-year terms during the Spring organizational meeting of the Faculty Senate.  The submission deadline is 8:00 AM on February 2, 2026.

Faculty Personnel Deadlines

Below are the deadlines for personnel actions that are coming up soon (see the full Faculty Manual Part X, Section II Schedule for Personnel Actions for more information):

Workplan and Annual Evaluation Timeline – for 9-month faculty, the unit administrator will inform faculty of workplan and annual evaluation deadlines by January 10.
Advancement in Title Timeline – Fall and Spring of Decision Year:
- 2nd Tuesday in January: the unit administrator will inform the committee of upcoming need for a meeting and the faculty member will meet with the unit administrator to verify that all required documents are in the Portfolio
- 3rd Tuesday in January: the faculty member turns in the Portfolio to unit administrator and the unit administrator makes the Portfolio available to the committee
Reappointment of Probationary-Term Faculty Members Timeline:
- 2nd Tuesday in January – Unit administrator informs committee of upcoming need for meeting; faculty member meets with unit administrator to verify that all required documents are in PAD
- 3rd Tuesday in January – PAD due to Tenure Committee for reappointment decision

Policies, Rules, and Regulations Sent Out for Comment

The University Flexible Work Arrangement and Remote Work Regulation has been circulated for open comment. The faculty officers consider the PRRs that are opened for comment and decide whether they should be assigned to committees for review. They agreed that the regulation did not require committee review, but faculty are encouraged to review the regulation and submit comments if they wish.

Faculty may submit their feedback on these items through the system, but they will be required to sign in using their ECU credentials. If faculty wish for their feedback to be anonymous, they may send their feedback to Dr. Mark Bowler, Chair of the Faculty, and he will submit it on their behalf, or they may submit an anonymous comment to the Faculty Senate Contact Form.