CU Denver Faculty Assembly

The Voice of CU Denver Faculty

The Faculty Assembly (FA) is the official voice of the CU Denver Faculty in shared governance on our campus, at our University and at the CU-system level.

The Faculty Assembly and its committees are elected/appointed by their schools and colleges on campus to represent the interests of the faculty and to work with administration of the campus. Whether you are a member of FA or not, please become familiar with the CU Denver Faculty Assembly Constitution and Bylaws, located under Policies & Governance Documents. They provide guidance for formal faculty governance and norms for academic governance generally. As full participants in critical decisions about change and continuity in the campus's future, faculty have the obligation to be knowledgeable about their rights and responsibilities.

2025 Federal Transition

• Please familiarize yourself with continually updated information and guidance on the CU federal relations website, which includes communications, federal memos, links to executive orders, and an FAQ section on current operational guidance. We will provide periodic updates as we navigate the sea of uncertainty. 

• New CU Denver page on the federal transition: https://ucdenver.edu/federal-updates

• Federal transition updates for researchers, from CU Denver's Office of Research Services 

•  Ask CU Denver a question about the transition, here.

• If you are approached by law enforcement or governmental agents seeking information, in all circumstances direct them to campus police dispatch who will engage the university’s legal services for support as needed. The Auraria Campus Police Department can be reached at: 303-556-5000. 

• Resources for Undocumented Employees and Students (from CU Boulder). As a reminder, Auraria Campus Police dispatch can be reached at: 303-556-5000.

Faculty Assembly Committees

The Faculty Assembly has 8 standing committees that tackle a range of issues that are essential to the continued growth of the institution and to the quality of the faculty experience on this campus.

Faculty Assembly Membership

Monthly Meetings

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Faculty Assembly meetings occur the first Tuesday of each month from 12:30 pm- 2:30 pm (September- December; February- May)

**NEW: All meetings for AY25-26 will be hybrid. Please contact FA@ucdenver.edu for further details.**

Faculty Assembly Executive Committee meetings occur the last Tuesday of each month from 12:30 pm- 2:30 pm (August- November; January- April)

Spring 2026 FA Elections

Congratulations to our newly elected Faculty Assembly Officers:  Jamie Hodgkins, Vice Chair, and Kelly McCusker, Secretary. 

Faculty Assembly Awards

Strengthening Shared Governance

Faculty Assembly Memos, Letters, Resolutions & Reports

This resolution calls on the University to pause any further commitment on the acquisition of Independence Plaza until a structured shared governance process including substantive consultation with faculty, staff, and students has been completed and the University has provided full financial disclosure to the campus community.

The purpose of this letter to administration is to express disapproval of system and upper-level CU Denver/CU Anshutz campus administration's treatment of an undergraduate student. The student investigated the contract with Open AI for ChatGPT Edu and raised awareness regarding student and faculty concerns about the contract.

The CU Denver Faculty Assembly is forming a Collective Bargaining Task Force in anticipation of new systemwide policy discussions by the Board of Regents. The Task Force will gather information, evaluate bargaining models, engage faculty, and report recommendations. The resolution also outlines two primary models—partnering with an external union or forming an independent faculty‑run unit—along with shared structural considerations.

The letter urges campus leadership to address systemic problems in university information systems that prevent accurate updates to names and pronouns and fail to sync identity data across platforms. These issues result in misnaming, misgendering, and accidental outing, causing emotional harm, safety concerns, and disruptions to academic and workplace processes, especially for LGBTQ+ individuals and women. It requests clear ownership, prioritized action, stakeholder engagement, a detailed plan by April 2026, centralized guidance, regular progress updates, and transparent communication of solutions.

This report presents the findings of the Equitable Faculty Course Questionnaire (FCQ) Working Group’s in-depth review of current teaching evaluation practices, guided by a strong commitment to equity, transparency, and academic excellence. Through a collaborative effort involving faculty, students, and administrators, the project aims to transform teaching evaluation from a potentially punitive mechanism to a constructive tool for professional growth, institutional improvement, and educational excellence.

Faculty Assembly endorsement of the resolution that calls for higher education leaders at CU and across the state to form a Mutual Academic Defense Compact among all Colorado universities. Approved on May 6, 2025.

This resolution, in which Faculty Assembly conveys its support for our community and reiterates the university’s commitment to free expression, academic freedom, and nondiscrimination, was passed in our meeting on February 4, 2025.

On December 11, 2024, Faculty Assembly sent this letter to all faculty members regarding salary equity concerns. The letter outlines recent developments related to the legal settlement on the Boulder campus for equal pay and provides information on how faculty members can file salary grievances based on gender equity.

At the December 3rd, 2024, Faculty Assembly meeting, a resolution was passed urging the Auraria Board of Directors (ABOD) to extend voting rights to the Faculty and Student representatives from the Faculty Advisory Committee (FACAB) and the Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board (SACAB). The resolution emphasizes the need for these committees to have a formal role in decision-making, which would also strengthen the governance and leadership structure at AHEC. 

November 2024. Signed by several four-year institutions' faculty bodies, this letter’s purpose is to urge Colorado lawmakers not to label reduced–credit, three‑year degree programs as “bachelor’s” degrees. Faculty leaders argue that while such programs may be useful, they are not equivalent to traditional 120‑credit bachelor’s degrees and calling them such would be misleading. The letter warns that mislabeling these credentials could harm students’ career prospects, weaken workforce preparation, and deepen inequality—especially for low‑income and first‑generation students. Instead, we advocate creating a clearly named, distinct credential that expands options without diminishing the meaning of a bachelor’s degree.

This version of the report was approved by Faculty Assembly on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

This resolution regarding campus protests was passed by ExCom on May 1st, 2024. 

Drafts, Work in Progress, and other Informal Documentation

These documents are intermediate FA work products and have not been formally vetted or approved by the Faculty Assembly. We include them here to improve transparency, facilitate communication and discussion, and encourage engagement in shared governance.

Faculty Assembly End of Year Reports