Written by Connar Franklin in collaboration with Matthew Hudnall

The 2020s began under the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, which required the Faculty Senate to conduct much of its work virtually. The Senate advocated successfully for the creation of a public COVID-19 dashboard, supported campus testing and vaccination initiatives, endorsed tenure-clock extensions for affected faculty, and worked with administrators to provide flexibility in instructional delivery during the most disruptive phases of the pandemic.

The Senate also continued to play an important role in defending academic freedom and shared governance. In response to legislative developments affecting classroom instruction, the Senate adopted a resolution addressing academic freedom and monitored subsequent changes affecting higher education.

Faculty welfare remained a major priority throughout the decade. After years of Senate advocacy, the University implemented paid parental leave for faculty and staff in 2022. Senate committees continued to champion expanded childcare capacity, an effort that culminated in approval of a new childcare facility at the former Northington Elementary School site.

The Senate established a Renewable Contract Faculty Task Force in 2024 to examine promotion expectations, research requirements, and workplace concerns. The task force conducted campus-wide surveys, met directly with administrators, advocated for promotion decisions consistent with Faculty Handbook provisions, and sought greater recognition of scholarship, service, and professional accomplishments among renewable-contract faculty. Its work reflected the Senate's continued commitment to ensuring that this growing segment of the faculty had a meaningful voice in university governance and personnel policies.

The Senate also initiated a comprehensive review of the Student Opinion of Instruction (SOI) system.  The working group ultimately made several recommendations, which were accepted by administration, and launched a project to develop unique surveys for online courses.

Research growth and support for scholarship were also prominent themes. The Senate supported initiatives to improve research administration, streamline compliance processes, strengthen research infrastructure. Proposed by the Senate, UA launched a subvention program in October 2023 to provide financial support to faculty members with books currently in the publication process

Recent years have also seen the Senate address emerging issues involving technology and free expression. Committees monitored the impact of generative artificial intelligence on teaching, adopted policies requiring AI guidance in course syllabi, and oversaw major technological transitions such as Blackboard Ultra.

Written by Connar Franklin in collaboration with John Vincent

The 2000s were a decade of significant growth and transformation for both The University of Alabama and its Faculty Senate. As enrollment, research activity, and institutional ambitions expanded, the Senate became increasingly involved in shaping academic policy, strengthening shared governance, and advocating for faculty welfare.

One of the Senate's most consequential areas of activity was the expansion and refinement of shared governance. In 2002, the Senate amended its bylaws to extend representation to permanent non-tenure-track instructors (now known as NTRC), significantly broadening faculty participation in governance. It also formalized the university's ombudsperson system and established regular faculty feedback mechanisms for department chairs and deans. Over the course of the decade, these efforts evolved into a standardized system of periodic administrative evaluations, including faculty retention assessments and formal opportunities for faculty input into leadership reviews. The Senate also repeatedly defended adherence to Faculty Handbook procedures and worked to ensure that faculty remained active participants in decisions affecting academic leadership and institutional policy. The Steering Committee also successfully negotiated an increased allocation of faculty football tickets for the 2010 season.

Building on earlier efforts, the Senate repeatedly advocated for the desegregation of the Greek system, supporting integrated recruitment processes and opposing measures that would have insulated fraternities and sororities from university oversight. In 2004, the Senate adopted a landmark resolution acknowledging and apologizing for the university's historical connection to slavery, calling for greater recognition of the enslaved individuals whose labor contributed to the institution's development. The Senate also responded forcefully to incidents of campus racism and other forms of bigotry, consistently affirming the university's commitment to equal opportunity.

In 2007, the Senate suggested adoption of a tenure-clock extension following the birth or adoption of a child (which was later approved and implemented), an important step toward creating a more family-friendly academic environment. Senate committees also pressed for reforms related to retirement health insurance, flexible spending accounts, wellness initiatives, and other quality-of-life concerns affecting faculty and staff.

Academic policy reform remained a recurring theme throughout the decade. Senate initiatives helped reshape undergraduate regulations, including revised withdrawal policies, the introduction of freshman progress reports, and the development of new advising and degree-audit systems. The Senate worked with students to address textbook affordability, encouraged improvements in student attendance and academic engagement, and played a prominent role in defining core curriculum goals and the University's philosophy of undergraduate education. In addition, the Senate made revisions to the final examination schedule that compressed exams into a Monday-Friday format and eliminated Saturday testing, lobbied to incorporate student photographs with digital rosters to assist faculty with attendance and student engagement, and conducted a faculty-wide referendum on the undergraduate plus/minus grading system (which resulted in a two-thirds majority vote to retain the existing grading structure).

By the end of the decade, the Faculty Senate had become deeply involved in nearly every aspect of university life, from faculty welfare and academic policy to research governance, and student success. Its work during the 2000s helped institutionalize many governance practices that continue to shape relationships among faculty, administrators, students, and the broader university community.

Written by Wythe Holt and Connar Franklin

During the 1990s, the Faculty Senate focused increasingly on institutional governance, faculty participation in administrative decision-making, compensation, and issues of diversity and inclusion. Building on gains made during the previous decade, Senate leaders worked to formalize faculty roles in University governance through revisions to the Faculty Handbook and the creation of more structured procedures for faculty involvement in administrative searches, reviews, and academic reorganization. Significant efforts were devoted to establishing clear standards for promotion and tenure and protecting faculty participation in decisions affecting academic units.

The decade was also marked by concerns over salaries and benefits. Senate President Bob Halli's 1992 address to the Board of Trustees argued that University personnel were more important than physical infrastructure and that salary increases should take precedence over new construction. This effort helped persuade trustees to place faculty and staff compensation higher in budget planning. Continued reductions in state support for higher education during the administrations of Governors Guy Hunt and Fob James further intensified Senate engagement in discussions regarding higher-education policyand public support for University funding.

The Senate also responded to growing legislative involvement in higher education policy. Following passage of the 1994 Articulation and General Studies Act, Senate leaders expressed concern about preserving faculty control over curriculum and academic standards. Under Amy Ward's leadership, the Senate adopted a resolution defending faculty competence and autonomy in curricular matters and worked with faculty senates at Auburn and UAB to develop a common position on these issues.

The Senate continued to address racial segregation within fraternity and sorority life during 1999-2000. The Senate also worked to better define faculty service and outreach responsibilities, improve recognition of teaching excellence, expand faculty mentoring initiatives, and strengthen communication through new electronic resources and a Senate website. In its first twenty-five years of existence, the Senate had become an established and influential component of University governance.

²Took a spring sabbatical

⁵Was appointed as a department chair

Written by Wythe Holt and Connar Franklin in consultation with Claudia Johnson

The defining event of the early 1980s period of intense faculty-administration conflict

That culminated in President David Mathews's resignation. During the 1979-80 academic year, the Senate became the principal forum for faculty grievances. Senate meetings attracted standing-room-only audiences, and faculty representatives openly debated concerns about governance, funding, and administrative leadership. In October 1979, the Senate adopted a vote of "no confidence" in Mathews by a large majority. Faculty leaders then met with members of the Board of Trustees and worked to communicate faculty concerns regarding the direction of the University. Mathews resigned during the summer of 1980.

The Senate's success in voicing faculty concerns and helping bring about administrative change greatly enhanced its stature among both faculty and administrators. The Senate gained effectiveness in presenting faculty positions, demanding greater power-sharing on academic matters, and securing more consistent consultation by University presidents. The increased standing of the Senate was reflected in the establishment of a Council of Deans as a separate administrative body and in the growing expectation that faculty perspectives would be considered in institutional decision-making.

Throughout the decade, the Senate focused on strengthening faculty governance, defending faculty participation in University affairs, and addressing emerging challenges in higher education. Particular attention was given to the balance among teaching, service, and research responsibilities, as well as efforts to resist purely cost-benefit approaches to academic programs that might disadvantage graduate education, research, or small classes. Senate leaders continued to advocate for faculty rights and privileges whenever they were perceived to be under threat.

The 1980s thus marked the Senate's transition from a newly established representative body into an influential participant in University governance. The events surrounding the end of the Mathews administration demonstrated the Senate's capacity to organize faculty opinion and shaped its relationship with future administrations.

²Took a spring sabbatical

³Was appointed as Dean of College of Engineering

⁴Resigned position

Written by Wythe Holt and Connar Franklin in consultation with Claudia Johnson

The Faculty Senate emerged from a period in which University of Alabama faculty had little formal role in governance. During the administration of President Frank Rose in the 1960s, all committees were appointed by the President, faculty had little actual say in University governance, there was no established grievance process, and faculty influence over academic policy, resource allocation, and administrative review was limited. Faculty concerns became more acute following the appointment of President David Mathews in 1969, as many faculty viewed the central administration as increasingly remote and inaccessible. Faculty frustrations grew over the handling of student protests in 1970, the transformation of the faculty and student-generated "free university" into New College, and the lack of faculty access to budgetary information.

In response, faculty members founded a local chapter of the American Federation of Teachers in 1972. Although Mathews later established a Faculty Advisory Council, faculty dissatisfaction continued because a voting majority of its members were deans and administrators, and important votes consistently went against faculty interests. Faculty leadership increasingly centered in the University chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), whose members pressed for the creation of a Faculty Senate.

In 1975, Mathews approved the creation of a Faculty Senate with 35 initial members being elected. Annabel Hagood, Carl Cecil, Joe Lane, Dallas Sands, and Harold Mott played especially important roles in the negotiations that led to its establishment. Hagood became the Senate's first president. The Senate's founders rejected the Auburn model, which included deans and administrators, and instead created a body reserved exclusively for faculty members. The distinction between faculty and administration reflected the circumstances that produced the Senate and the faculty's desire for an independent voice in institutional governance.

Relations between faculty and the administration temporarily improved when Richard Thigpen served as acting Faculty Senate president during Mathews' service in the administration of President Gerald Ford. During this period, faculty secured a grievance process, which was the second major administrative recognition of faculty governance. After Mathews returned in 1977, however, tensions again increased. Faculty expressed growing concern about academic funding priorities, administrative decision-making, and the lack of faculty participation in governance. By 1978 and 1979, proposals for faculty evaluation of administrators, widespread criticism of the administration, and increasingly active Senate deliberations signaled the beginning of a broader faculty movement that would fundamentally reshape the Senate's role in the years ahead.

¹Resigned for administrative appointment