Orange text on a purple background image with a gavel and a building reading "Our Part" and text boxes that read "Faculty Senate's Commitment to Shared Governance"

June 2026 Faculty Senate Newsletter

Published Jun 22, 2026 by
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What’s New

2026-2027 Faculty Assembly Members

The Faculty Assembly is a body of faculty from each of the UNC System Institutions who meet at least six times per academic year to learn about and discuss matters affecting all the institutions. They provide feedback and advice to UNC System leaders and bring information back to their institution’s faculty. The new terms for the ECU® Faculty Assembly delegation begin on July 1st. The delegates and alternates beginning their terms on July 1st are:

  • Donna Roberson, Chair of the Faculty, College of Nursing
  • Annette Greer, Delegate, Brody School of Medicine
  • Meghan Millea, Delegate, Department of Economics
  • Toyin Babatunde, Delegate, College of Allied Health Sciences
  • Melinda Doty, Delegate, College of Engineering and Technology
  • Brittany Baker, Alternate, College of Nursing
  • Susan Sayger, Alternate, College of Engineering and Technology
  • Anne Ticknor, Alternate, College of Education
  • Kristen Myers, Alternate, Department of Sociology
  • Jeff Popke, Alternate, Department of Earth, Environment and Planning

2026-2027 Committee Rosters

At the April 28, 2026 Faculty Senate Organizational meeting, faculty were elected to open seats on the Standing University Academic, Appellate, Administrative, and Faculty Senate Committees, as well as Graduate Council. The rosters for these committees have been updated and members will be sent invites to the organizational meetings of the Standing University Academic, Faculty Senate, and Appellate Committees. Please note that the rosters for the Student Academic Appellate Committee and the Appellate Committee will be updated closer to the beginning of the fall semester, due to the continuation of the work of those committees over the summer.

New Progress Toward Tenure Letter Templates and Guidance

Members of the Faculty Governance Committee collaborated with a workgroup to develop guidelines and a template for progress toward tenure letters. These resources can be found on the Progress Toward Tenure page from Faculty Affairs.

Featured

Thank you to the Outgoing Faculty Officers

On July 1st, two of the 2025-2026 Faculty Officers will step down and the 2026-2027 Faculty Officers will begin their roles, functioning as a new team. We thank Chair of the Faculty Mark Bowler and Parliamentarian Gabriel DiMartino for their service. We are excited to have Secretary of the Faculty Donna Roberson returning as the new Chair of the Faculty, and Vice Chair of the Faculty Lisa Ellison continuing in her role.

Four faculty members standing together outside, smiling

From left to right: Lisa Ellison (Vice Chair of the Faculty), Donna Roberson (Secretary of the Faculty), Mark Bowler (Chair of the Faculty), and Gabriel DiMartino (Parliamentarian)

Reminders

Syllabus Submission

Remember to submit your syllabus prior to the July 20, 2026 deadline for submission. Provost Buddo and Chair Bowler sent a joint memo titled Course Syllabi – Online Platform Launch and Faculty Responsibilities (PDF) to announce the online syllabus platform that will be used at ECU®, as well as the deadline for submission ahead of the fall 2026 semester. Please visit the Faculty Affairs Syllabus Information website for more information.

Comments on University Policy Items

Three policies, rules, and regulations (PRRs) have 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 none of the below PRRs require assignment to a committee for comment:

Faculty are encouraged to submit their own feedback on the 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.

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 12-month faculty, workplan and annual evaluation are due to the Provost by July 15.

Want to Serve on a Committee?

Though committee elections have already taken place, there are ex-officio roles on some committees that will need to be filled, and committee vacancies that sometimes occur prior to the beginning of the fall semester. If you are a Faculty Senator or Alternate, you can be considered for the Faculty Senate representative on committees. Other interested faculty can be considered to serve as the representative of the Chair of the Faculty on committees, or to fill a vacated seat. If you are interested in serving in one of these roles, you may email Rachel Baker (bakerr@ecu.edu) or incoming Chair of the Faculty Donna Roberson (robersondo@ecu.edu).

ADA Accommodation: 252-737-1018 or ada-coordinator@ecu.edu