Faculty Council pursuing representation on systemwide sustainability committee

Leaders in faculty and administration are working toward the addition of faculty representation on the university’s systemwide Sustainability Steering Committee, a group tasked with identifying and pursuing opportunities for sustainability collaboration across CU.

Earlier this year, Faculty Council began discussing the possibility of establishing an ad hoc committee on sustainability. During the council’s Aug. 28 meeting, held remotely, Chair Jorge Chavez said it’s possible instead that members from the campus faculty assemblies could serve as representatives on the existing administration committee.

“I think that this makes a lot of sense, at least for a trial period,” said council member David Paradis, who previously co-chaired the CU Boulder Faculty Assembly’s (BFA) Climate Science and Education Committee. “Then we’ll see if there’s a need for a separate Faculty Council committee.”

Last week’s meeting was the first of the academic year, and the first led by Chavez in his role as Faculty Council chair. Among the topics discussed was faculty members seeking expressions of support for academic freedom in their teaching and research roles.

“Given the current climate, it’s understandable that there are concerns about academic freedom across our campuses,” said Chavez, who noted he’d recently discussed the topic with President Todd Saliman. “I will continue to advocate on our behalf. As you see things happen on your campuses, please raise them to me so I can raise them to the president.”

The next Faculty Council meeting is scheduled for Sept. 25. Chavez said the meeting might be held in person with a hybrid option, rather than a remote-only meeting. Meetings were held at 1800 Grant St. until 2020, when the pandemic initiated a shift to meetings via Zoom.