Faculty Senate

Welcome to the Boise State University Faculty Senate website. The Faculty Senate is a representative body that is responsible for faculty participation in shared governance and planning for the University.

A Memo From Faculty Senate

Dr. Lisa Growette Bostaph, President of the Boise State Faculty Senate

I want to thank you for trusting me with the position of Faculty Senate President for this academic year. In the past 5 years, we’ve had changes in leadership at all levels of the university, changes in faculty, changes in students. We’ve weathered through a pandemic that forced us to change how we did our jobs, while it also decimated our university culture. But, amidst all of the change, one thing remains: the institution. This institution is founded on the notion of shared governance; a joint responsibility between administration and Faculty to see it through good and bad times. As people come, stay, and leave the institution, the institution itself, the administration, and this body, the Faculty Senate, remain. A healthy institution and a healthy balance of shared governance requires a healthy and active Faculty Senate. I know that many of us have been asked and asked to give more and more in many ways for the University, so I am aware that I am but one more ask when requesting that faculty be involved in shared governance. Moving forward, it is paramount that we work to strengthen Faculty Senate and its Standing Committees and ensure that they are functioning in alignment with our Constitution and By-Laws. That will require a commitment to re-invigorate those committees and recruit Faculty to lead them. But, with everything facing Boise State and higher education in general, it’s more important than ever for Faculty and Faculty Senate to have a strong voice in the University’s mission, policies, practices, and future.

Faculty Senate spent much of fall semester reconstituting their Standing Committees, which work as the first stop for University policies and practices prior to going to Faculty Senate, and realigning their work with the Faculty Constitution and By-Laws.
Over the course of this semester, each Standing Committee has met at least once with many committees meeting more frequently. The Senate has voted to send a number of charges to the Standing Committees addressing issues in promotion and tenure, academic issues, and faculty compensation and benefits policies.
As the university moves into the spring semester, the Faculty Senate will continue participating in the Budget Modernization and Promotion and Tenure initiatives as well as begin sending charges to its Standing Committees based on concerns shared by university faculty in last year’s Faculty Senate Faculty Concerns Survey.

We have created a Faculty Senate Google Site, accessible to all Faculty, which contains lists of Senators, Standing and Ad Hoc Committees and their members, and Faculty Senate minutes.

Questions about Faculty Senate, the Standing Committees or their work can be sent to the Faculty Senate President at lisabostaph@boisestate.edu. The Faculty Senate appreciates the Office of the Provost and the Office of the President for their active engagement with our work this semester.

Faculty Senate President
Dr. Lisa Bostaph
lisabostaph@boisestate.edu
(208) 426-3886
MS 1955

Faculty Senate Vice President
Dr. Laurie Cavey
lauriecavey@boisestate.edu
(208) 426-1829
MS 1555