UAH faculty leader urges trustees to preserve academic stewardship amid recent legislative activity

Dr. Andrea Word, president of the UAH Faculty Senate, addressed trustees about recent legislative changes that she said bear directly on the work of faculty at public universities. Word framed faculty roles — the training pathway into tenure-track scholarship, responsibilities for curriculum and discipline standards, and commitment to evidence-based inquiry — as the basis for why faculty must be central to decisions about academic matters.

"When the public asks a question... why should we trust you to design the courses and deliver the instruction and choose the paths of research that you do?" Word said, recounting the lengthy training and peer scrutiny that characterize faculty preparation. She emphasized that legislature, the board and faculty have complementary responsibilities and called for sustained dialogue: "These are stewardship questions. And they deserve to be asked in dialogue among all of us who gather around the table as public servants for the good of the people of this state."

Word urged trustees to consider which forms of oversight strengthen the university’s mission and which might narrow academic inquiry. She said faculty stand ready to work with the board as it navigates changes and to participate in evidence-based review and shared stewardship.

The remarks were delivered as part of the UAH institutional meeting; she and other presenters also referenced recent and pending legislative measures affecting university governance and accountability.