About the Faculty Assembly and the Faculty Council, and Committees

Faculty Assembly

The Faculty Assembly is the representative body of faculty who are of professorial rank (excluding adjunct, visiting, emeritus) or lecturer or instructor rank, with at least half time appointment. The Faculty Assembly meets at least twice during the academic year.

The President presides, with the agenda jointly negotiated by the Faculty Council and the President’s Office. In the Fall the Faculty Assembly votes on a five-member Nominating Committee from a list of candidates who have agreed to serve. In the Spring semester, the Nominating Committee prepares the ballot for Faculty Assembly to elect the Faculty Council officers who take office in May, and for its successors who are selected at the next Fall Assembly.

Faculty Council

The Faculty Council is the representative body of the Faculty Assembly at Boston University. The Faculty Council members are members of the Faculty Assembly who are elected to represent their individual school or college, either as a representative or as an alternate. Each school or college is responsible for holding its own election for representatives and alternates.

As a Member of the Faculty Council, you can participate in an open forum to learn about, question, and voice your opinion about the policies and activities of the University. Both representatives and alternates are expected to attend Faculty Council meetings. Moreover, it is the duty of the Council members to report back to their colleagues about the activities of the Faculty Council and to poll their colleagues and present their questions and concerns to the Faculty Council.

The Faculty Council reviews new proposals for academic programs, evaluates and provides feedback to the Administration on new initiatives and policy changes, and forms its own initiatives or projects based on recommendations made by individual Council members, or by the Faculty Council committees. In addition, the Faculty Council fosters an open, continuous dialogue with the University by inviting senior members of the Administration to attend Faculty Council meetings and present new policies or projects to the full Council for comment.

As a Representative on the Faculty Council, you also are a member of the University Council, which is comprised of the President, the Provosts, the deans, and senior academic administrators.  Subsets of certain Faculty Council Committees also serve with administrators on University Council Committees, where the substantive topics of the University Council are formulated.  Faculty probably have their greatest input to important legislation in this setting.

The Faculty Council meets once per month during the academic year, usually on the first Tuesday of the month from 3:30-5:00 p.m.

Faculty Council Committees

As an individual faculty member, you can volunteer to serve on one of the Standing Committees, or special task forces of the Faculty Council.

Election to the Faculty Council is not a prerequisite for committee service.

The Committees work by email, or meet in person at arranged times, as needed. Send your expression of interest to fafc@bu.edu.