Updated Principles, Next Steps Campus Message

Student email:

Dear Students,

I’ve met this week with student leaders to discuss potential changes to the University’s rules and regulations. 

This process will lead to a larger voice for students in guiding decisions about the life of our community.

Based on the feedback I’ve received, I’m proposing revisions to the principles for change that I distributed to you last week.

• First, I will propose that we state more clearly in our Governing Regulations (GRs) — the rules that comprise the principles for how our University is managed — the role that the Student Government Association (SGA) plays in helping us make decisions that most impact students. 

  Specifically, the GRs will detail that SGA is formally engaged in and consulted about relevant matters important to students (those matters are described in the revised principles). The GRs will direct that our Administrative Regulations (which prescribe ongoing operational issues) clearly spell out these issues. Our GRs currently say little about SGA and its role. I want to make clear how important you and your elected leaders are in the life of this community.

• Second, I’ve proposed the creation of a President’s Council, which will be composed of campus members to advise me on the most important issues confronting the University. 

  I’m proposing that the Council does not have any senior administrators on it. It will be composed of the President and four students, four staff members and four faculty members. 

  The SGA President will automatically be one of the student members. SGA will send eight nominations to the President from student government for the second position. SGA will send eight nominations of students who are not in student government to the President for the third position. And the President will select the fourth student from the student body at large. 

  The goal is for the four students to represent the diversity of ideas, perspectives, identities and backgrounds that you bring to this campus. 

  The staff and faculty representation on the Council will be similarly comprised. The idea here is to make sure that students have a larger voice on issues that directly impact them day in and day out. You should also have a voice in issues, whose impact spans the entire campus community.

You can continue to provide feedback on the revised principles through April 17. In the meantime, we are in the process of revising the existing Governing Regulations to align with these principles. We will submit them to our Board of Trustees on April 19 and provide them to the campus as well.

The Board will consider them at the April 26 meeting. If they are in favor of the revised GRs, they will give initial approval — a first reading — and then, as prescribed in University policy, there will be another month of formal feedback before a final vote at the Board’s next meeting.

Then, if approved, we will begin the process as a community of revising all the University’s ARs to align with these principles. In the spirit of shared governance, that process will involve students, faculty and staff.

Our Governing Regulations are an important part of how we ensure that decisions are made thoughtfully and that they involve as many people as possible.

We are here because of you — to help educate and prepare you for a life filled with success, meaning and purpose.

I hope the final weeks of the spring semester are both safe and productive for you. 

Thank you.

Eli Capilouto, President

Staff email:

Dear Colleagues,

I’ve met this week with the leadership of the Staff Senate to receive further feedback about the principles I distributed last week to guide important changes to our Governing Regulations (GRs).

Based on the feedback, I’m continuing to revise these principles. As we provide them to campus for more input over the next several days, I want to highlight two important revisions, designed to provide you with a greater voice and more representation in the life of our campus:

First, I’m proposing that our GRs make clear the areas your elected leaders advise me on before any final decisions are made. Specifically, the GRs will detail that the Staff Senate is formally engaged in and consulted about relevant matters important to staff (those matters are described in the revised principles). The GRs will direct that our Administrative Regulations (ARs), which prescribe ongoing operational issues, clearly spell out these issues.

Second, I’m proposing the creation of a President’s Council, which will advise me on the biggest issues that impact every part of our community. As I’ve heard from you about this Council, I’ve continued to revise how it will be comprised.

I’m proposing that no senior administrators serve on the Council. Instead, it will be the President, four staff, four students and four faculty. The Chair of the Staff Senate will automatically be one of the staff representatives. The Staff Senate will send a list of eight nominees from the Staff Senate to the President for the second position. The Staff Senate will send a list of eight nominees — not from the Staff Senate — to the President for the third position. And the President will pick a staff member for the fourth position.

The goal is for staff representation to be as diverse as possible in representing all aspects of our mission — education, health, research and service — as well as the broad perspectives, identities and backgrounds of our people. The faculty and student representation will be similarly comprised.

We want to ensure — and enshrine in our rules — the role staff will play in advising on issues of direct importance to you in your daily work. But the rules should also clearly state the important voice you should have on issues that impact every area of our campus, as represented by the President’s Council.

This latest iteration of the principles for change will be available for further feedback through April 17. In the meantime, we are working on revisions to the GRs that will align with these principles. We will submit them to the Board, and make them available to the campus, on April 19.

The Board will consider them at the April 26 meeting. If they are in favor of them, they will give initial approval — a first reading — and then, as prescribed in University policy, there will be another month of formal feedback before a final vote at the Board’s next meeting.

Then, if approved, we will begin the process as a community of revising all the University’s rules and regulations to align with these principles. That process, which will take several months, will involve students, faculty and staff.

The Governing Regulations are important. They describe how we ensure that we involve everyone in making thoughtful decisions about our community and the state we are always seeking to serve and advance.

I am deeply appreciative of your continued feedback. Thank you for all you do to make our progress in advancing Kentucky possible.

Eli Capilouto, President

Faculty email:

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

I am writing to provide you with further revisions to the principles that we are using to inform potential changes in our University’s Governing Regulations (GRs).

I’ve continued to meet with faculty leaders, including members of the Senate Council earlier this week, to discuss the direction from our Board of Trustees to make changes in our GRs. The deans have been regularly briefed on this process as well. 

We must position our campus to accelerate the progress you are making possible in advancing our state.

In short, our rules can be clarified, shorter and less cumbersome. They need to help, not hinder, your work and your efforts in education, research, service and care. 

To that end, based on continued feedback from more than 1,000 people across our campus, I’ve continued to update the principles: 

First, there is more detail around the idea of faculty primacy with respect to the curriculum. At most institutions like ours, faculty and college leadership make decisions about curriculum. To the extent there is redundancy or conflict in courses among colleges and units those decisions should be made in consultation with the Chief Academic Officer. The Provost will consult with the Faculty Senate on such matters.

Colleges and units understand best the educational needs of their students. The faculty within those units should have a clearer and stronger voice. 

Second, within the institution’s rules for daily management — what we call our Administrative Regulations (ARs) — colleges should be directed to create their own internal regulations for faculty curriculum committees to make recommendations about courses and programs and should also spell out how staff and students can have a greater voice in these processes.

Third, the Faculty Senate should have a formal role in reviewing, with the Provost, the UK Core — the foundational courses that all students should have access to early in their educational paths at UK. 

Fourth, I am proposing the transition of the University Senate to a Faculty Senate. Students have made clear, through their elected leaders, that they don’t see the University Senate as a structure where they feel assured that their voice is heard and represented. Staff are not on the University Senate as it is and, as I’ve heard from many, they are comfortable with the Staff Senate as a representative body to consider issues specific to them.

This is not a criticism of the University Senate. At the time it was formed, more than a century ago, we were a much smaller institution. Today, we are simply a much bigger and more complex place. Our organizing structure should reflect that. 

The Staff Senate considers the day-to-day issues that impact staff and provides counsel. The Student Government Association (SGA) does the same for students. A Faculty Senate is an appropriate body and structure to give voice to specific faculty concerns. Those issues are spelled out in more detail in the revised principles.

For larger institutional matters, that impact our entire community, I’ve proposed the creation of a President’s Council. As I’ve heard from you about this Council, I’ve continued to revise how it will be comprised.

I’m proposing that no senior administrators serve on the Council. Instead, it will be the President, four staff, four students and four faculty. The Chair of the Faculty Senate will automatically be one of the faculty representatives. The Faculty Senate will nominate eight members from the Faculty Senate for the President to choose from for the second position. The Faculty Senate will nominate eight faculty members, none of whom is on the Senate, for the third position. And the President will choose a faculty member at large for the fourth position. 

The goal is to ensure that representation is as diverse as possible in representing all aspects of our mission — education, health, research and service — as well as the broad perspectives, identities and backgrounds of our people. The staff and student representation will be similarly comprised.

We want to ensure — and enshrine in our rules — the role faculty will play in advising on issues of direct importance to you in your daily work. But the rules should also clearly state the important voice you should have on issues that impact every area of our campus, as represented by the President’s Council.

This latest iteration of the principles for change will be available for further feedback through April 17. In the meantime, we are working on revisions to the Governing Regulations that will align with these principles. We will submit them to the Board, and make them available to the campus, on April 19.

The Board will consider them at the April 26 meeting. If they are in favor of them, they will give initial approval — a first reading — and then, as prescribed in University policy, there will be at a minimum another month of formal feedback before a final vote at the Board’s next meeting.

Then, if approved, we will begin the process as a community of revising all the University’s rules and regulations to align with these principles. That process, which will take several months, will involve students, staff and faculty.

The Governing Regulations are important. They describe how we ensure that we involve everyone in making thoughtful decisions about our community and the state we are always seeking to serve and advance.

I know there is not universal agreement on every aspect of these proposals. Change is never easy. And, at a place like ours, respectful disagreement should be part of the process. It’s how we arrive at better, more thoughtful decisions.

No matter the perspective, please know how deeply appreciative I am of what you do for our students, our community and our commonwealth.

Eli Capilouto, President