- Rojhat Avsar, Communication and Culture
- Marcelo Caplan, Design
- Alison Cary, Visual Arts
- Robert Edgecomb, Film and Television
- Betsy Edgerton, Communication and Culture
- Ron Fleischer, Design
- David Gerding, Design
- Visda Goudarzi, Audio and Music
- Ann Gunkel, Communication and Culture
- Ted Hardin, Film and Television
- Derick D. Jones, Jr., Design
- Keith Kostecka, Design
- Dawn Larsen, Business and Entrepreneurship
- Ilya Levinson, Audio and Music
- Frances Maggio, Theatre and Dance
- Dave Pabellon, Design
- Jackie Penrod, Theatre and Dance
- Brendan Riley, Communication and Culture
- Lee Sanders, Audio and Music
- Hilary Sarat-St Peter, Communication and Culture
- K. Crom Saunders, Communication and Culture
- Jo-Nell Sieren, Design
- Jackie Spinner, Communication and Culture
- Jeff Spitz, Film and Television
- Jacob Victorine, Fashion
- Ayo Walker, Theatre and Dance
- Loren Wells, Business and Entrepreneurship
- David Woolley, Theatre and Dance
Faculty Senate
The Columbia College Chicago Faculty Senate is an officially sanctioned body within the governance structure of the College. The Senate embodies the principles of shared governance and is driven by the collective will, expertise, and creative energy of its full-time faculty. The Senate empowers the faculty to provide authoritative communication and collaboration with the president of the College, chief academic officers, and others regarding policies and practices pertaining to academic excellence, creative and scholarly endeavors, and professional responsibility and conditions of employment. The Senate is the principle body responsible for deliberations, formulations and recommendations concerning academic policy at the College.
- Senators
- Standing Committees
Executive
The Executive Committee sets the agenda for each senate meeting, manages senate business, communicates with internal and external stakeholders, and actively pursues the implementation of senate recommendations.
- Rojhat Avsar, President
- Betsy Edgerton, Vice President
- Ted Hardin, Secretary
- Derick D. Jones, Jr., Parliamentarian
- Jo-Nell Sieren
Academic Affairs
The Academic Affairs Committee considers issues relevant to graduate and undergraduate, in-person, hybrid, and online teaching and learning at Columbia College Chicago.
- Alison Cary
- Ron Fleischer
- Ann Gunkel
- Dawn Larsen, Co-Chair
- Ilya Levinson, Co-Chair
- Jackie Penrod
- Hilary Sarat-St Peter
- K. Crom Saunders, Secretary
Faculty Affairs
The Faculty Affairs Committee considers issues that impact workplace conditions for faculty at Columbia College Chicago.
- Robert Edgecomb
- Dave Pabellon
- Brendan Riley
- Jackie Spinner
- Jeff Spitz
- Ayo Walker
- Loren Wells
- David Woolley, Secretary
Financial Affairs
The Financial Affairs Committee collaborates with the administration on fiscal matters that impact teaching, learning, and faculty affairs.
- Marcelo Caplan
- David Gerding, Co-Chair
- Visda Goudarzi
- Keith Kostecka, Co-Chair
- Frances Maggio
- Lee Sanders
- Jacob Victorine
- Bylaws and Responsibilities
The Senate Bylaws were written and approved by the faculty Spring 2011. They were approved by the Columbia College Board of Trustees on October 6, 2012.
Senator Responsibilities
The Columbia College Faculty Senate empowers “the faculty to exercise leadership and apply their expertise towards” the overall health and effectiveness of the institution (Bylaws 2.3.3). Rather than wielding power as individual members of the Senate, Senators work collectively as a representative body to leverage the expertise of faculty for purposes of shared decision-making and leadership.
To this end, consulting regularly with faculty constituents and representing the collective will of these stakeholders—at standing committee and full Senate meetings—is critical to maintaining the Senate’s position as “a mechanism by which the faculty can authoritatively communicate with the administration and constituencies both within and beyond Columbia College Chicago” (2.3.2).
The following summaries of Department/School Senator responsibilities are meant to provide general guidelines for the expectations associated with the Senator role:
Department Senator Responsibilities
- Represent the collective will, expertise and authority of the faculty within your department regarding matters pertaining to teaching, learning and faculty life.*
- Include a summary of Senate business at regular departmental meetings
- Solicit input from faculty about Senate matters, especially those requiring an upcoming vote, in an effort to truly represent the voice of your department
- Remind faculty of upcoming Senate meetings and invite them to attend
- The above can be conducted via e-mail and in standing faculty meetings
- Attend all Senate meetings
- Attend all standing committee meetings
School Senator Responsibilities
- Represent the collective will, expertise and authority of the faculty within your school regarding matters pertaining to school-wide concerns.*
- Attend all Senate meetings
- Attend all standing committee meetings
- Introduce themselves as School-wide representatives at school-wide faculty and briefly update their colleagues on College or School-wide issues under review by the Faculty Senate
Standing Committee Chairperson Responsibilities
- Schedule, create agenda, and document minutes for monthly meetings. Submit minutes via email to the Secretary of the Executive Committee
- Meet with the Executive Committee on an as-needed basis to receive charges and discuss progress
- Prepare a report of committee, subcommittee, and workgroup business and orally present at all scheduled Faculty Senate meetings
- Prepare an annual written report summarizing work completed, outstanding actionable items, and future business, including the work of any subcommittees and workgroups, to be submitted via email to the Secretary of the Executive Committee by the final Faculty Senate meeting of the academic year
- Establish sub committees or workgroups after a majority vote of those senators in attendance at the meeting such is proposed
- Issue the subcommittee or workgroup a specific charge, a membership roster, and a project timeline
*Adapted from Faculty Senate Bylaws, 2.1, emphasis added