Friday Focus: Shared governance at UAF
Aug. 14, 2026
—&Բ;By Debasmita Misra, UAF Faculty Senate president and vice-chair of UA Faculty Alliance
On behalf of the UAF Faculty Senate, the UAF faculty governance team joins me in extending to you all a warm welcome to the beginning of the academic year. We especially welcome our new students, staff and faculty and hope to see them adopt the UAF culture quickly and to blend themselves by overcoming the vagaries of learning about the new environment they have thankfully chosen.
This is the second time Jak Maier and I have chosen to serve as President-elect and President of the FS, respectively, in AY27. I believe it is both critical and fun to be engaged in the shared governance of UAF.
The FS serves a critical role in the shared governance structure of the university, along with other governance bodies of UAF. We collaborate with the UAF and UA administration and, as an extension of the UA Board of Regents (via the UA Faculty Alliance), in determining university policies. Here, I would like to quote Derek Bastille, our past UAF Staff Council president, who summarized the role of governance bodies very succinctly. Bastille stated, “At UAF, we frequently discuss the importance of the “three pillars” that interact to support our institution. The students who are our reason to be here and are seeking education and training; the faculty who teach and mentor students and lead the research we do; and the staff who provide the resources, infrastructure, support and environment needed by both students and faculty…SC works in concert with the Faculty Senate and ASUAF on larger, collective issues involving staff, faculty and students, and is also a part of the accreditation process for UAF.” University policies thus best serve the effective functioning of the university when they are developed collaboratively.
I urge all faculty to be attentive to and involved in the proceedings of the Faculty Senate. In 2025-26 alone, the Faculty Senate passed six academic motions, 10 non-academic motions, 14 resolutions, five Unit Criteria, and 18 academic programs. All FS motions or resolutions are developed in its three standing and 10 permanent committees. While curriculum and program approvals are the major responsibility of the FS through its Curriculum Review Committee, FS also strongly advocates for Academic Freedom and Diversity at UAF through its Faculty Affairs Committee, Committee on the Status of Women, and ad hoc committees such as Committees on Academic Freedom, Academic Integrity, and Open Educational Resources. FS also works on student academic or non-academic issues through various other committees. Other FS committees also play a very critical role in the shared governance platform. A list of committees of the FS may be accessed on the FS committee page and the 2026-27 FS meeting schedule at the FS meeting information page.
This academic year, we welcome Russell Vander Lugt as our new UAF chancellor and Matthew Cooper as our new UA president. Both will be addressing the FS on Sept. 14. We look forward to collaborating with them on shared governance, respecting the values of academic freedom, and embracing/prioritizing the diversity and inclusion of our students, staff and faculty. These collaborations and policy development or implementation should be done with mutual respect. A new policy or a change in a policy may be proposed by any faculty member through a FS committee or it could be directed to the FS president or to Molly Anslinger.
I am looking forward to the search for a new UAF provost this academic year and to interacting with you all as much as possible. Let us be a team and make UAF better together!