UK board votes to dissolve university Senate, outlines role of new faculty body
The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved a plan to dissolve the university Senate, changing the faculty’s role in setting school policies.
The vote at the board’s meeting on Friday was the second on the role of the Senate and a slate of governing regulations for the university, moving the university Senate into an advisory role and giving policy-setting power to President Eli Capilouto and other administrators.
The board also approved a process lasting through the end of the year to determine how the new faculty Senate is created and rules determined.
Capilouto has said the changes are necessary to make UK more “nimble,” and to streamline the decision-making process at the university.
“Not everyone is supportive of this process or the resulting recommendations and revisions before you this morning,” Capilouto said Friday morning. “I will always respect those who disagree, and respect that it comes from an honest, but still profound, difference of opinion.”
The vote came after months of objections from faculty, who have voiced concerns about the process used to bring the recommendations to the board and about long-term implications of moving into an advisory role. After the first vote in April, where the board approved initial rule changes and changing the role of the senate, the university Senate passed a vote of no confidence in Capilouto.
The changes were nearly unanimously approved, with one faculty trustee, Hollie Swanson, voting against them. Before voting in favor of the changes, several board members expressed their support of Capilouto, including faculty trustee Hubie Ballard.
Swanson questioned the data behind the change, saying she could not vote in favor of the changes due to the “absence of any compelling evidence,” referencing a presentation made by Deloitte Consulting earlier this year. During the presentation, a representative from Deloitte said the data was “not intended to be scientific,” and since then, the university has declined to make any reports from Deloitte public.
DeShanna Collett, who was university Senate chair during the most recent school year, said she was “profoundly disappointed and saddened” by Friday’s vote.
“Despite our commitment to shared governance, transparency and accountability, and our dedication to faculty governance, we have been obstructed by university leadership who fail to uphold their own principles of ensuring greater trust, transparency, accountability, and caring for our people,” Collett said. “They orchestrated this significant change without involving the faculty who have extensive knowledge of and passion for UK.
“I fear that the consequences will be deeply felt over the next several years until there is a change in leadership.”
How will new faculty Senate members be selected?
Though the faculty has opposed moving its body into an advisory role, student and staff groups have supported the changes, which they say adds more voices to the decision-making process.
The Student Government Association and staff senates will remain in advisory roles, and a new President’s Council will be created, which will be made of students, faculty and staff who advise the president on a variety of campus issues.
“The resulting regulations are responsive to what we have asked President Capilouto to do,” said Kim McCann, the board’s vice chair. “They position us for success in the future and they are the product of thoughtful deliberation, active consultation and honest feedback from across this campus — exactly what should have happened.”
The board approved a process for keeping a faculty body in place until the new faculty Senate is selected. Elections for the new faculty Senate will be held no later than Oct. 31, according to guidelines approved Friday.
Until elections are held, a “provisional faculty senate executive committee” led by Provost Robert DiPaola will be in place. It will be composed of 22 members, including the provost as chair, the two faculty trustees and one faculty member from each college.
College representatives will be selected by the dean of each college, who will submit three faculty nominations to the provost, who will then select members. An administrative regulation, based on previous university senate rules, will outline how the committee will operate through the end of the year.
Though the university Senate will cease to exist, several committees and councils will continue, including the UK Core Education Committee and the faculty Senate Advisory Committee on privilege and tenure.
New governing regulations include updated language about “credit-bearing and non-credit bearing curriculum in academic colleges,” faculty’s role in curriculum and ensuring the board of trustees is in alignment with Kentucky Revised Statutes, said Jay Blanton, UK spokesperson.
This story was originally published June 14, 2024 at 10:10 AM.