Message from the President of the Faculty Senate

The University of Texas at Tyler

Greetings on behalf of the UT Tyler Faculty Senate. It is my honor to serve as its president for the 2024 - 2025 academic year. 

The Faculty Senate is comprised entirely of faculty that are selected democratically by the faculty themselves, both tenure track and non-tenure track. Each college or school within the university has three senators, and there are also three At-Large senators elected on a rotating basis. There is also one professional librarian elected from Library Services. Faculty and Senate leadership is comprised of the president, president-elect, past president, secretary, treasurer, and parliamentarian. The purpose of the Faculty Senate is to communicate directly with the University's upper administration in an advisory role in the service of shared governance. Shared governance refers to shared responsibility among faculty and university administrators in the management of the university's operations, which relies on partnership and open communication, and a culture of caring, mutual respect, and commitment to addressing any challenges. To put it simply, faculty and the university administrators have a shared stake in the success of our institution and in each other's success; we work together in service of our common goals. 

There are monthly meetings of the elected faculty senators, presided over by the Faculty Senate President, to present work by the Senate committees as well as to discuss issues, to brainstorm, and to strategize. Visit your Faculty Senate representatives. Contact your representatives to share any items or concerns that you would like to be addressed by the Faculty Senate body. We also have direct lines to the administration. The Faculty Senate President attends the University President's Cabinet meeting monthly and has monthly meetings with the Provost and with the university president to discuss a wide range of items on an ongoing basis. The Faculty Senate hosts monthly open sessions, in person, with free lunch, but also available via Zoom. The open sessions are run by the Faculty Senate President and are open to all faculty and university administrators. Many administrators, including the University President and the Provost, attend regularly, provide updates, and open the floor to questions. This is a great opportunity to directly interact with them. The open sessions also feature a rotating assortment of other speakers, both faculty and administrators, across campus, who provide important updates and foster discussions. I encourage you to attend. View the calendar of meetings. We typically meet in the Alumni House or the University Center Ballroom.

I encourage you to reach out to me with any questions, or to just introduce yourself and say hello. Have a great academic year!

Sincerely,

Joshua Banta

UT-Tyler Faculty Senate President, 2024 - 2025

Email: jbanta@uttyler.edu