2021-2022 Summary of Activity

The Faculty Council session begins September 1, 2021 and ends August 31, 2022. It meets monthly September through May, and as needed. The minutes of Faculty Council meetings are posted, upon approval by the Faculty Council.

Please bookmark this page to stay abreast of the Council’s activities throughout the year.  Contact your Faculty Council representatives to voice your questions and concerns.

Faculty Assembly convenes twice a year.  The Fall Assembly will convene on November 1, 2021.  The Spring Assembly will convene on March 30, 2022.   The meetings are recorded and archived on the website.

Faculty Council Officers 2021-2022

Eileen B. O’Keefe
Chair
Clinical Professor
Department of Health Sciences
College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College

Kimberly A.S. Howard
Vice Chair
Associate Professor
Counseling Psychology
Wheelock College of Education & Human Development

Leslie Will
Secretary-treasurer
Anthony A. Gianelly Professor
Department of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics
Goldman School of Dental Medicine

Discussions & Outcomes, 2021-2022

On May 3, 2022, the Faculty Council met with Senior Diversity Officer Andrea Taylor and Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Jin In to discuss the role of their office in University policy.  Nominating Committee Chair Andy Andres presented the slate for Faculty Council Committee Chairs for the 2022-2024 term. The Council voted unanimously to adopt the slate. Faculty Council Chair Eileen O’Keefe reviewed the strategic priorities that Council members suggested for the 2022-2023 session and reported on the Council’s work for the 2021-2022 session.  Mark T. Williams, Chair of the Compensation and Benefits Committee, reported on the Committee’s discussions about the impact rising inflation has on faculty salaries and benefits, and staffing needs for academic units.

On April 26, 2022, the Executive Committee met with Assistant Provost for General Education David Carballo to discuss the plans to assess the BU Hub in May 2022.  Charles Chang, Chair of the Equity & Inclusion Committee, gave a report about the Committee’s recommendations for best practices for drafting DEI statements. Rebecca Kinraide, Chair of the Academic Freedom Committee, gave a report about the Committee’s recommendations to promote, protect, and support academic freedom at the University.  All members of the Council were invited to attend this meeting.

On April 5, 2022, the Council convened on the MED campus.  Associate Provost for Graduate Affairs Daniel Kleinman and Assistant Provost for Graduate Enrollment Management David Cotter discussed graduate admissions initiatives.  The Council heard reports from Marnie Reed, Chair of the Awards Committee; Charles Chang, Chair of the Equity & Inclusion Committee; and Rebecca Kinraide, Chair of the Academic Freedom Committee.  The final version of the reports are available on the Committee Reports 2021-2022 page.

The Faculty Assembly convened on March 30, 2022. President Robert A. Brown, University Provost Jean Morrison, and Faculty Council Chair Eileen O’Keefe gave presentations.  The recording is on the Faculty Council website, available to Assembly members with their kerberos ID.

On March 1, 2022, the Council met with President Robert A. Brown to discuss new Covid protocols for the remainder of the Spring 2022 semester.  Associate VP for Enrollment & Dean of Admissions Kelly Walter gave a presentation about undergraduate admissions and shared data about the effect of test optionality on admissions.

On February 1, 2022, the Council met with University Provost Jean Morrison.  The topics discussed included: evaluation of tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty for promotion, in consideration of professional delays and challenges caused by the pandemic; diversity initiatives in faculty hiring; classroom ventilation and safety, among other topics.

On January 18, 2022, the Faculty Council met with President Robert A. Brown and University Provost Jean Morrison to discuss Covid protocols for the start of the Spring 2022 semester.  Also, Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives Laura Jenks Robinson and Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs Maureen O’Rourke introduced the AAU Principles for Sexual Harassment Prevention and discussed the plans for the working group to implement these principles.

On December 7, 2021, the Faculty Council convened on the MED campus.  Vice President & Associate Provost for Research Gloria Waters joined the meeting to respond to faculty’s questions about research issues.

On November 18, 2021, Faculty Council Chair Eileen O’Keefe met with ARROWS faculty for a listening session about the ongoing impact of the pandemic on faculty professional development, particularly for those who are caregivers for young children and elders.

On November 9, 2021,  Vice President and Associate Provost for Global Programs Willis Wang and Executive Director of Study Abroad Gareth McFeely joined the Executive Committee to discuss the Global Pillar of the BU2030 strategic plan and the current status of study abroad programs.  All Council members were invited to join the meeting.

On November 5, 2021, the Council held a working lunch to discuss academic freedom.  Dr. Wendy Mariner, Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Faculty Council, moderated the discussion.

On November 2, 2021, the Council met with Associate Vice President of Public Relations Rachel Lapal Cavallario.  Ms. Cavallario discussed resources available to faculty who experience trolling and other forms of online harassment and distributed this flyer.  Associate Provost for Graduate Affairs Daniel Kleinman joined the meeting to discuss graduate education.  The Council elected Professor Paul Barbone, ENG, as Co-Chair of the University Council Graduate Affairs Committee.

The Faculty Assembly convened on November 1, 2021.  President Robert A. Brown, University Provost Jean Morrison, and Faculty Council Chair Eileen O’Keefe gave presentations.  The recording is on the Faculty Council website, available to Assembly members with their kerberos ID.

On October 5, 2021, the Council met with President Robert A. Brown and discussed several topics including: the University’s budget and endowment, faculty hiring and promotion, salary raises for NTT faculty, the BU2030 plan, the recent closure of study abroad programs, etc. Faculty Council raised the faculty’s concerns about contingency plans to teach if they need to quarantine and issues centered around bullying and sexual harassment prevention and training.

On September 21, 2021, the Council met with Tracy Schroeder, Vice President of Information Services and Technology and Chief Data Officer to discuss issues concerning BU Google drive.  Swathi Kiran, Lead, Strategic Planning Implementation Group, Associate Dean for Research; James & Cecelia Tse Ying Professor in Neurorehabilitation, College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College, updated the Council about BU 2030, the Strategic Plan. The minutes will be posted, upon approval of the Council.

On September 21, 2021, the Faculty Council elected Prof. Betty Anderson (CAS History) and Prof. David Mayers (CAS Political Science) to the Frederick S. Pardee School for Global Studies Dean Search Advisory Committee. The following faculty also stood for election: Prof. Dilip Mookherjee (CAS Economics); Assoc. Prof. Teena Purohit (CAS Religion); and Prof. Christopher Robertson, LAW.

On September 9, 2021 the Faculty Council hosted an orientation session for new members of Faculty Council.

On September 1, 2021 the Faculty Council sent a call for nominations to all University faculty to solicit candidates for the Frederick S. Pardee School for Global Studies Dean Search Advisory Committee.  The nomination period closed on September 13.

Ongoing Issues of Faculty Concern

The Council regularly invites members of the leadership and academic officers to discuss current issues, concerns and initiatives and provide bidirectional communication between faculty and administration.

Faculty Representation on University Committees

In addition to serving/co-chairing University Council Committees, members of Faculty Council serve on the following University-level committees:

  • Antiracism Working Group
  • BU Hub XCC Steering Committee
  • BU Laboratory Safety Committee
  • BU Laboratory Safety & Student Education Sub-committee
  • Community Safety Working Group
  • Diversity & Inclusion Recruitment Committee
  • Fulbright Campus Review Committee
  • Graduate Council
  • Grievance Committee
  • Howard Thurman Center (faculty liaisons)
  • Learning Management Systems Steering Committee, CRC
  • Mascot Committee
  • MyCV Faculty Advisory Committee
  • SIS Program Steering Committee
  • Strategic Planning Task Force
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Scholarly Resources & Services — Libraries subcommittee
  • Title IX Hearing Board
  • University Academic Conduct Board
  • University Advising Network
  • University Leadership Group and Recovery Organization Working Groups
    • Graduate/Professional Programs
    • Medical Advisory
    • Research and Clinical Operations
    • Undergraduate Programs
  • Women’s Leadership Council, MED