Story by Jade Pearce

Lianne Sheppard, the Rohm & Haas Endowed Professor in Public Health Sciences, has been recently elected chair of the UW SPH Faculty Council. In this Q&A, Sheppard, professor of biostatistics and environmental and occupational health sciences, shares helpful information about what council is, how it operates, and how she plans to how to focus her time and energy as chair. 

JP: What is the SPH Faculty Council?  

LS: The Faculty Council represents the faculty at the School and consists of one elected faculty member from each department plus one representative from interdisciplinary programs. The council serves as an advisory team to the dean and operates under a shared governance model. It’s important that faculty have representation when working with the dean of our School. Our relationship with the dean is lateral and even though we have an advisory role, our voices are usually heard and respected.  

JP: How often do meetings occur? 

LS: Meetings occur once every month. We have an annual calendar that lays out the regular topics we address every year.  

JP: What topics does the Faculty Council address?  

LS: There are certain topics that the dean is required to consult with the council on, such as the School budget. Additionally, we actively review all proposed faculty promotions and tenure appointments each fall; members vote on these appointments before they are sent to upper campus for review. The Faculty Council also manages the updates to the Academic Affairs Handbook (AAH), which is the document that describes promotion criteria and processes in SPH.  

Currently, the AAH is undergoing a revision process that focuses on including Anti-Racism and EDI concepts within the promotion and tenure section. Recommendations for updates are being developed by the SPH faculty AAH workgroup. The plan is for the workgroup to bring their proposed changes to the council this fall. By the end of winter quarter, the Faculty Council will manage the voting process on the AAH changes. At this time, we also plan to vote on a revised version of the SPH bylaws. 

JP: Who can attend Faculty Council meetings?  

LS: Meetings are conducted in a hybrid format, and most are open to the public per the Faculty Council bylaws. Faculty can also request copies of the meeting materials and learn about the meeting schedule  on the council’s web page. Meetings are often attended by the SPH Dean, Hilary Godwin, and Vice Dean for Faculty, Deepa Rao, and by invited guests such as the chair of Curriculum and Education Policy Committee (CEPC), or the SPH Academic Affairs Handbook (AAH) Workgroup.  

JP: When were you elected?  

LS: The faculty chair is usually elected in the spring and the term begins in Sept. I started September16, 2023 and the chair position is held for a year.  

JP: What does the Faculty Council nomination process look like?  

LS: Department faculty nominate and elect their respective Faculty Council member and alternate, usually in the spring of the third year of the current member’s term. The details of the process are department dependent, though in all cases the process should respect faculty governance. The Faculty Council chair position is elected from the existing councilmembers and voted by these members too. Sometimes it is challenging to find nominees to serve as representatives or as chair.  

JP: What is your focus as chair of the Faculty Council?  

LS: There are many routine activities that I will focus on this year, including our ongoing dialogue with the dean and associate dean, reviewing and approving promotions, and planning and convening the spring all faculty meeting. In addition, this year we will present updates to the AAH and SPH bylaws for a faculty vote. SPH hasn’t updated its bylaws in a very long time. It is essential that we align the SPH bylaws with changes in the faculty code, such as explicitly incorporating the teaching professor position. Further, the Faculty Council is considering whether to propose changes in the membership composition of the council.  

Finally, I want to ensure that there is more openness and transparency in Faculty Council-related activities. I’m hoping this will help my faculty colleagues feel more connected to our work. To me, this includes making meeting materials easier to access as well as showing a clear presence within the School. As part of this effort for more transparency the Faculty Council is hosting an All Faculty Fall Welcome Reception on Oct. 17th from 4 – 5:30 p.m. on the 8th floor of HRC. I hope to connect with many of my peers at that event. 

I want to encourage faculty to reach out to me or your Faculty Council representative this year if you have anything you would like to bring to our attention. Faculty voices do matter, and the Faculty Council is one of the best ways for faculty to understand school affairs and express their concerns.