Troy approves continuation of faculty senate

Troy’s Board of Trustees ratified the continuation of the Faculty Senate in early September after the Alabama state government pushed it to do so.

The Alabama legislature passed Alabama Act 2026-432 in early July of this year, which went on to make public universities’ governing bodies across the state review and ratify their faculty senates.

Troy’s Faculty Senate serves as an advisory body to the administration, offering the faculty's perspective on issues present on college campuses.

“The Faculty Senate is an elected body comprised of elected faculty members from across the university,” said Troy’s Faculty Senate President Dr. Lenetra Jefferson. “It provides the faculty with a voice that can help support both academically and, on the student-supportive side, with the university.

“We not only share governance here at the university, but we also try to be supportive of the university community as well. We are not the final decision-making body at the university in any way, shape or form, but we're kind of an advisory council to the administration, and we appreciate that we do have this working role with administration here at the university.”

Some colleges across the state, like South Alabama and Jacksonville State, have voted to discontinue their faculty senates. Meanwhile, Troy’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to keep the working relationship between the administration and the Faculty Senate.

One administrator looks forward to continuing to work with the Faculty Senate and said he sees the importance of keeping the elected body on Troy’s campus.

“I think you have to have the faculty's voice and input to be able to manage the university properly because they're the front lines; they're the ones dealing with our students every day, and if you don't have that communication and feedback then I think it's very difficult to do the work of the university whether you're an administrator, staff member or anyone else,” said Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Interim Provost Dr. Judson Edwards. “I have a lot of respect for what the Faculty Senate does.

"We're all just trying to work together to help students, and it shows Troy has done our best to keep our focus on what it should be, and that's the student.”

While offering the faculty’s advice on topics like AI in the classroom, the Faculty Senate also provides the staff with training for different situations it might face on campus.

“Some of the things we did were to provide active shooter training for faculty and staff throughout the campus,” Jefferson said. “We had it provided by our Chief of Police.

"Our faculty welfare committee coordinated that and provided that as a service to our faculty and staff colleagues.”

The continuation also comes almost a year before Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr.'s retirement. Edwards believes the positive relationship between the senate and administration will be positive for any potential new chancellor looking to fill the role.

“Having regular communication and trying to address issues as they come up as we go into having a new chancellor, I think it's just going to help us attract the best chancellor that we can because we do have such a positive relationship with the Faculty Senate,” Edwards said. “If you're a new chancellor, you want to have a good working relationship with the faculty.”

Some in the Faculty Senate encourage others to join as it offers insight.

“I highly encourage other faculty to get involved with Faculty Senate because I have felt like I've learned a lot being a part of this process,” said Professor Christopher Stagl, the chair for the policy and procedure committee with the Faculty Senate. “I do look forward to the continued years of partnership and relationship with our administration and board moving forward.”

For faculty interested in joining the Faculty Senate or wanting to know more about the organization, contact Dr. Jefferson for more information.