The BFA held it's first Assembly meeting for spring semester on Thursday, February 1, 2024. BFA Chair Shelly Miller began the meeting by reading the CU Boulder Land Acknowledgment statement and recommending members connect with the Center for Native American & Indigenous Studies.
The first item on the agenda came from CUSG Tri-Exec Chase Cromwell regarding a recent piece in the Boulder Daily Camera and student efforts to get the CU Board of Regents to change the system policy allowing for concealed weapons on campus. The Board of Regents February meeting will be held in Boulder at SEEC. Cromwell also shared a link to data from National Higher Education Concealed Carry Status showing how CU ranks compared to peer institutions across the country on this issue. A recent story in the Denver Post gives a rundown of pending legislation at the state level that will likely impact what changes CU might make. Miller and Cromwell recommended faculty share this information with constituents and encourage them to reach out to their congressional leaders as well as to colleagues at other Colorado institutions.
Members discussed and approved BFA-R-1-112823 Credit for Prior Learning resolution that was introduced in December by the BFA Academic Affairs Committee chair - Garrett Bredeson, Sr. Vice Provost for Academic Planning & Assessment - Katherine Eggert, and Asst. Vice Provost & University Registrar - Kristi Wold-McCormick. Discussion included upcoming plans from the Registrar and Bursars offices regarding business processes for course challenges, as well as the distinct processes and needs individual departments/units will have for course challenge requests.
BFA Chair Shelly Miller gave members an update on the CU Boulder Chancellor Search committee on which she serves. Committee members are reviewing a large number of applicants and begin meetings on those this week. Additionally, Miller noted that the campus Climate Action Plan was scheduled to rollout and be open for public comment. She encouraged representatives to alert their constituents and asked faculty to review the plan and comment between February 5 to March 5.
CU President Todd Saliman joined Assembly members and spoke with them regarding several areas that the BFA Executive Committee asked about. The questions included:
- How are you raising awareness of the value of a 4-year degree and breaking down barriers to higher education?
- How are you and your office working with state legislators and Governor Polis to increase CU funding and work towards the elimination of TABOR?
- Where will we find resources for climate action on our campus and how is system supporting the goal to drastically reduce our carbon footprint?
Regarding the first question, Saliman noted that state institutions are working together on a marketing campaign about preparing for college and attending in-state colleges and universities. The campaign is called "It's closer than you think" and is aimed at encouraging Colorado high school students to look in-state and to help families realize the cost is often more affordable than out of state. Additionally related to the second question, Saliman noted that due to a lack of funding and financial aid funding CU was working with state leaders to access surplus funding in TABOR for possible AP/IB credit funding for in state students to help with this. He also noted that the Governor's budget fell short this year, and higher ed presidents are advocating for increased funding. He also suggested members review a recent Funding in Higher Education report showing how state support had declined by 27%. Regarding climate action resources, Saliman noted that resources for these measures will come from each campus, such as the campus Climate Action Plan and follow through from groups like the Campus Sustainability Executive Council. Additionally, he will be creating a system group that will draw on what Boulder is doing and try to see what we can learn from each other and elevate the issue system-wide.
The final two items on the Assembly agenda included the annual report by the Faculty Athletics Representative, Joe Jupille. Jupille went over this NCAA-mandated position and the duties. He will be stepping down next year and encouraged representatives to consider running. The role has several key "buckets" he works in: Academic integrity and success; institutional control/compliance (with NCAA, Conference, and CU rules); student athlete well-being and campus-athletics relations. The position description is being updated now and Jupille expects a call for applications on campus to begin during 2024 so that the incoming faculty can shadow him during spring 2025. Please contact him directly for any questions: joseph.jupille@colorado.edu. BFA Intercollegiate Athletics (IAC) committee chair Don Oest also announced the third event in the committee's campus athletics series featuring Kris Livingston and a conversation on student athlete success and wellness on Feb. 14 from 3-4pm at the Center for Teaching & Learning in CASE.
And lastly BFA Secretary Vicki Grove announced that nominations are open for nine BFA At-Large Representative seat vacancies. Please see the BFA elections page for more information. All eligible faculty received an e-memo on February 1 regarding the seats and how to self-nominate.
Additionally, Assembly members may wish to review the CUBT story on the meeting. Meeting minutes will be sent to Assembly members by February 29, 2024. Contact the BFA office for any questions: bfa@colorado.edu