Dear Colleagues,

It is hard to believe that another academic year is already upon us. This is, without question, my favorite time of year. The fall brings renewed energy across campus, a contagious excitement that you can’t help but notice! It also brings the opportunity for new goals and new pursuits for the academic year. 

My primary goal for the Faculty Senate this year is to focus on communication. I believe that communication is the foundation of everything we hope to accomplish together. It is how we build trust, foster understanding, navigate disagreement, and move our work forward. It is the key to success of this body and to fulfilling the responsibilities entrusted to us through the Administrative Regulations. It is how we build strong relationships with our constituents and the key to ensuring that the voices of our faculty are heard, respected, and represented. 

I also believe that when communication improves, collaboration will follow. And when we collaborate, we are better positioned to serve our faculty and advance the important work before us. As you read on you will see an example of Faculty Senate communication and collaboration with University administration on a new policy impacting faculty. I believe you will see how working collaboratively with administration is guiding trust and results in more effective outcomes. 
 
I am excited for the year ahead. I look forward to learning more about you and the work that you do to support the mission of this great University. I welcome each of you to attend an upcoming Faculty Senate meeting. You can find the dates for the remaining fall meetings here. All of our Fall 2026 meetings are located in the newly renovated, very beautiful Whitehall Classroom Building, room 328! I hope to see you there!

Co Cats!
Hanna
Chair, Faculty Senate

Fall 2026 Updates

An Update on HB490 
The Shared Governance Committee (SGC), led by Becky Alley, oversaw the development of the Faculty Senate Recommendations Regarding Implementation of HB 490 document. During the August 31st Faculty Senate meeting, Provost DiPaola requested a group of Faculty Senators and Administrators come together and work collaborative to develop draft policy that would be sent forward to the University. As noted in the Faculty Senate meeting minutes from September 14th, the final product shared with the University for review was a product of the input, feedback and partnership between the Faculty Senate and the Office of the Provost. You can find the memo from Associate Provost Rebecca Thomas here reviewing the process, collaborative efforts, and final approved policy by the Board of Trustees.

Continued Work on the Faculty Title Series
The Title Series Ad Hoc committee has continued to work on the Faculty Senate Advisement: Title Series Structure Review. Thank you to all of the faculty that participated in the Faculty Title Series Survey request shared last spring. The ad hoc committee received feedback on the draft report during the October 12th Faculty Senate meeting from faculty senators and their constituents. Over the next several months the ad hoc committee will continue to receive feedback from senators and Deans to develop a revised report that will be shared back for feedback. Additional steps in the process will include a financial analysis before the final recommendations are made. The ultimate goal for this advisement is to ensure collaboration and communication as the final proposal is developed.

Shared Governance Social
The Shared Governance Fall Social took place in October. Representatives from all three shared governance bodies (Student Government Association, Staff Senate and Faculty Senate) were in attendance. The event included time for informal social time and an interactive exercise lead by Emily Smith from UK Human Resources focused on sharing experiences and learning new perspectives. It was a great opportunity to come together and the Faculty Senate looks forward to more opportunities to collaborate and support our staff and student colleagues.

Communicate with the Faculty Senate

Want to meet with your Faculty Senator? We have updated our website! Please utilize the button below to find your Faculty Senator and access their email!

Faculty Senate Directory

Are you looking for University Service? Do you want to support the work of the Faculty Senate? Committee membership is open to regular full-time faculty who are not faculty senators! You can learn more by visiting the Faculty Senate standing committees page linked below. Please reach out to the current Chair of the committee you are interested in joining.

Faculty Senate Standing Committees

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

Faculty Senate Bulletin

Dear Colleagues,

Since dissolution of the University Senate, your college Senators have labored over the past year to build a new Faculty Senate and navigate effective representation of our constituents as an advisory body. With your help, we have articulated faculty concerns and their impact on the University, for example, as administrative regulations (AR) are released for public review (our latest AR review summary is located on page 6 here). We are building relationships of trust with administration, staff, and students, and have begun reporting to the Provost on charges related to faculty affairs, such as UK-FRAME (our report on page 5 here) and UK CORE (our report on page 21 here).  Through this newsletter we hope to strengthen two-way communication with each of you and hope you will connect with your college Senators and that we can help with any questions you have.

I am excited that Dr. Johanna Hoch has been elected as the new chair and look forward to her new initiatives and developments during the 2026-27 academic year.

Sincerely,
Christopher Crawford

2025-2026 Year-End Review

Fall 2025

• Discussed updates from the TCE and Academic Integrity work groups. 
• Created a process for reviewing and soliciting feedback on Administrative Regulations.
• Discussed academic freedom and freedom of speech as it relates to the University Web Policy and listserv communication.
• Responded to a request for advisement on faculty performance and productivity evaluation process through UK FRAME.
• Discussed the University's Institutional Neutrality Statement. 
• Established a communication strategy for the Faculty Senate to ensure timely and meaningful communication with faculty.
• Discussed and collected data to respond to a request for advisement on UK Core and the recertification process of UK Core courses. 

Spring 2026

• Provided updates on the Faculty Senate communication strategy and the creation of a Faculty Senate Bulletin. 
• Held elections for the 2026-2027 Faculty Senate chair. 
• Received updates on the implementation of UK FRAME.
• Provided feedback on Administrative Regulations. 
• Discussed HB 490 and drafted a statement from the Faculty Senate in response to that discussion.
• Discussed research updates with the Vice President for Research.
• Discussed and collected data to respond to a request for advisement on faculty title series. 
• Responded to a request for advisement on UK Core and the recertification process of UK Core courses.

Upcoming Business

• The implementation of UK FRAME. 
•  University compliance with HB 490.

Dear Colleagues,

The Faculty Senate is putting out a call for nominations to be a member of the President's Council.

GR VI establishes the President’s Council to advise the university president on matters important to the university’s success and help guide the university in its missions of teaching, research, service and care. Topics that the President’s Council may focus on include the strategic plan, new initiatives and budgetary priorities. 

The President’s Council consists of the university president and 12 members, made up of four students, four faculty and four staff. Members serve for one year and may be reappointed. The President’s Council will meet on a schedule determined by the university president. 

As outlined in PR 6, faculty representation on the President’s Council consists of:

• The chair of the Faculty Senate;
• One Faculty Senator selected by the university president from five nominations of the Faculty Senate;
• One faculty member not part of the Faculty Senate selected by the university president from a list of five nominations from the Faculty Senate; and
• One faculty member selected by the university president.

We invite you to apply here for nomination as a faculty member. You may nominate yourself or others. The selection process will begin on Thursday, March 13, and all applications received before this date will receive full consideration.

This newly created position will work collectively with other faculty members to share information and perspectives on University of Kentucky priorities. Although this position is new, and its time commitments are estimated, its role is integral to amplify faculty voices. We encourage those who are interested in this important role to apply.

Please contact me at c.crawford@uky.edu if you have questions. 

Sincerely,

Christopher Crawford  
Faculty Senate Chair