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Senior Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation and Dean of the Institutes Massimo Ruzzene reasserted during the February Boulder Faculty Assembly (BFA) meeting on Feb. 6 that the university’s commitment to its values has not changed.

“In the face of this uncertainty, I think it’s important to reaffirm that our values, our priorities and commitment to care for one another have not changed,” said Ruzzene. “We all remain committed to, number one, upholding academic freedom for all members of our community. We’re committed to promoting and supporting scholarship as the pursuit, application and assimilation of knowledge; to supporting our campus efforts to attract and retain top talent within our students, staff, faculty; to fostering everyone’s success; and to ensuring the safety, security and well-being of our faculty, researchers, students and staff.”

Shelly Miller of mechanical engineering, the BFA chair, echoed Ruzzene’s sentiment.

“In these moments of stress and uncertainty, we should lean in. We should come together as a community. We should support each other. We should keep working and stay true to our mission,” said Miller. “You are a professor, teaching amazing students. Continue to teach them.”

While Ruzzene could not give specifics due to the fluid nature of the situation, he did encourage everyone to keep an eye on the federal transition webpage, which houses the most up-to-date information. He also recommended that faculty monitor these other campus websites as they are updated regularly:

• 91����Ƶ system, 
• Research & Innovation Resources, Research and Federal Funding webpage
• For detailed guidance for the research community, consult “What to do”
• For questions about specific funded projects, Office of Contracts and Grants

Ruzzene answered questions from faculty ranging from protecting student rights in the classroom to how existing grants and new grant applications should be dealt with in light of disruptions. He said that faculty, staff and students can visit Buff Info to ask further questions, emphasizing that the questions are read and responded to. Using the Buff Info resource is important because it allows the university to track the kinds and number of questions coming in so that subject matter experts can distinguish between what is a one-off concern and what are bigger questions that require a university-wide response. 

If anyone has privacy concerns about submitting their question to Buff Info, Miller said, they’re encouraged to reach out to her or the BFA and they can submit the questions for them.

“This is a marathon, not a sprint...We must remain committed to our values. We need to support each other, and we need to remain confident that our excellent work and care for one another, for our students, will make a difference,” said Ruzzene, adding:

“There’s no doubt that this is a challenging time for our community, but you must not despair. We should not be despondent. This is a time where we can come together and really activate our collective strengths. And because we anticipate that this uncertainty will continue for some time, it is important that you know that the importance (of the work we do) has not changed.”

In other BFA action

At its February meeting, the assembly also discussed:

Retirements and restructuring

Miller announced at the beginning of the meeting that she will retire from 91����Ƶ Boulder in June. 

“I really enjoyed my time in many roles in the BFA,” Miller said.

In addition, long-time program coordinator Lynne Howard and BFA secretary Vicki Grove of Germanic and Slavic studies are retiring from 91����Ƶ Boulder. 

Miller pointed out these transitions have opened up the opportunity to reimagine certain roles, including a proposed faculty seat called the faculty shared governance advisor. This three-year position will call on a faculty member with broad campus experience to advise the BFA officers and consult with college and school faculty governance bodies on campus faculty shared governance issues. 

Additionally, the recently approved changes to BFA officer roles means the secretary role expands to include some elements of the previous vice chair. The new title, BFA parliamentarian and chair of bylaws and elections, better reflects those duties. 

Any feedback or questions should be sent to bfa@colorado.edu prior to the March BFA meeting, where they will be voted on. Faculty with interest in running for upcoming BFA officer seats should reach out to Miller. Officer elections will be held in April and May.

Additional business

• Everyone is encouraged to vote on the new microcredential policy, which was introduced during the December meeting.
• The BFA/Center for Teaching and Learning working group on generative AI has created syllabus guidance, and a motion was introduced recommending faculty include generative AI guidance on their syllabus statements based on this guidance. Faculty are encouraged to view the guidance and , which meets on Fridays. Additionally, CTL is hosting  related to generative AI, including the upcoming two-day conference on equitable teaching practices and generative AI topics featuring Flower Darby.
• BFA is currently accepting nominations for three BFA at-large representative positions, two of which are outside of the College of Arts and Sciences, one within. Nominations are open through Feb. 24, with voting open March 3–14.
• Miller encouraged everyone to attend the upcoming lecture, “”

The next meeting is scheduled for March 6. Learn more about the BFA and previous actions on the BFA website.