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 and student efforts to get the CU Board of Regents to change the system policy allowing for concealed weapons on campus. The will be held in Boulder at SEEC. Cromwell also shared a 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 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:

1. How are you raising awareness of the value of a 4-year degree and breaking down barriers to higher education?
2. How are you and your office working with state legislators and Governor Polis to increase CU funding and work towards the elimination of TABOR?
3. 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 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 

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Spring 2022 BFA Officer Elections

The following seats will be up for election in April, and will be voted on at the April 28 Assembly meeting via Qualtrics. These seats are open to any BFA Assembly representatives. Nominations will run from March 28 through April 13. Please see the call for nominations by BFA Secretary Adam Norris for complete details. These seats are for one 3-year term. In addition to serving on the Executive Committee , the duties for these seats are as follows:

• BFA Vice Chair - The Vice Chair will assume the duties and responsibilities of the Chair in the case of absence or incapacity. In addition, the duties of the Vice Chair include but are not limited to the following: 1. serve on the Bylaws Committee; 2. publish updates to the Bylaws and/or Standing Rules approved by the Assembly; 3. welcome new chairs of standing committees and explain their role in the Assembly and on the Executive Committee; 4. meet on a regular basis with the chairs of the standing committees of the Assembly; and 5. convey the charge and convene the first meeting of any ad-hoc committee or task force that is formed by the Executive Committee.
• BFA Secretary - The Secretary will chair the Nominations & Elections Committee. In addition, the duties of the Secretary include but are not limited to the following: 1. serve on the Bylaws Committee; 2. provide the chairs of standing and special committees with a list of the members of said committees; 3. assist the BFA Coordinator in updating the Assembly Roster; 4. welcome new BFA representatives and explain their role in the Assembly; and 5. welcome new BFA standing committee members and explain their role on said committees.

Please submit via e-mail your nomination packets to the BFA Secretary Adam Norris: bfa@colorado.edu, by 11:59 pm on Wednesday, April 13. Nomination packets should include the following:

• confirmation (separate e–mail is fine) that the nominee is willing to serve;
• the name of the nominator (or list as self-nomination - always welcome!);
• a personal statement from the nominee that will help BFA members understand why they are running and what the Assembly might want to know about them;
• an e–mail header containing the phrase "BFA Officer Elections";

The list of nominees will be posted on the BFA Election webpage along with their personal statements.  BFA Representatives will be asked to cast their vote via Qualtrics on Thursday, April 28, 2022 before 5pm. Results will be announced at the Assembly meeting.

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Dear BFA Representatives,

Please see the Call for Nominations letter by BFA Secretary Adam Norris for the internal phase for BFA fall 2021 elections. The dates for elections are as follows:

Phase I – Internal – Open only to BFA Representatives

• Nominations: August 24 – 31, 2021
• Elections: September 2 -3, 2021

Phase II – External – Open to all eligible campus faculty senate members

• Nominations: Sept 7-13, 2021
• Elections: Sept. 14-16, 2021

Please visit the BFA Elections webpage for more information. To find out more about individual committees, please visit the BFA Standing Committee webpage. Additionally this year we have two seats for faculty interested in serving on the CU Boulder Police Department Community Oversight Review Board, and four seats open for faculty interested in serving on the Honor Code Advisory Board.

Send nominations, self-nominations, or any questions addressed to BFA Secretary Adam Norris to: bfa@colorado.edu

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At the April 29, 2021 BFA General Assembly meeting representatives elected a new Chair. Tiffany Beechy, who is Associate Professor in English, was elected for a two-year term beginning July 1, 2021. In spring of 2023 this seat is eligible for a second term of one additional year. Members also elected Alastair Norcross, Philosophy to the Executive Committee At-Large Representative seat which is a three-year term. Please see BFA Chair Tiffany Beechy's bio below:

Tiffany Beechy 

My background spans the sciences and the humanities, and both academic and creative work.  I studied linguistics and English at Harvard (AB 1999) having come from a public school education in the Pacific Northwest.  I finished an MFA in poetry at Columbia in 2001 and left New York just a month before September 11.  I went to the University of Oregon for my PhD (2007, medieval English literature), and competed for the U of O Running Club, where, it should be said, several of my road and track records still stand!  My first professorship was at the University of North Florida (2007-11), and I have been at CU since 2011.  My research focuses on medieval poetry and the poetics of medieval culture, and my latest book (forthcoming, U. of Notre Dame) is on the unusual theology of the Incarnation in early Britain.  I am active in efforts to diversify medieval studies, and am particularly committed to mentorship of both undergraduates and graduate students.  I have been faculty program coordinator for the PhD Consortium in Literatures and Languages through the Center for Humanities and the Arts since 2019, and active in the Boulder Faculty Assembly (BFA) since 2016, serving on the faculty affairs and executive committees as well as on Faculty Council.  I am an alumna of the CU Boulder Faculty Leadership Institute (2016-17) and was elected chair of the BFA in 2021.

Nomination statements for both Beechy and Norcross:

Tiffany Beechy - BFA Chair Nomination Statement

Alastair Norcross - BFA Executive Committee At-Large Representative Nomination Statement

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BFA Secretary Adam Norris announced election information for BFA General Assembly At-Large Representatives seats. The following seats are open to eligible campus faculty:

• 1 At-Large Representative Arts & Sciences
• 5 At-Large Representative Other Units (Non-A&S)*

Nominations are open from Monday, February 10, 2020 through Monday, February 24, 2020. Faculty may self nominate or be nominated by another faculty senate member. See the elections announcement for full nomination information.

Elections will be held via Qualtrics from March 2 - 9, 2020 and are open to the full faculty senate. Faculty members will recieve an email invite to participate in the election. General Assembly At-Large Representative seats are for a three-year term (FA20 - SP23). For more information on eligibility and duties see the BFA Elections page and the Becoming A Member page. 

*Other Units is defined as the following CU Boulder schools and colleges: CMCI; Education; Engineering; Environmental Design; Institutes; Leeds Business; Libraries; Law School; Music.

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