About Us

Vision Statement

To serve in an advisory capacity as the voice of the UNC faculty. 

Mission Statement

The UNC Faculty Assembly was established in 1972 at the request of then UNC President William Friday. The Assembly is comprised of elected representatives from each of the UNC constituent institutions, and serves as an advisory body to the UNC President, System Office and Board of Governors, as well as the NC General Assembly and faculty and administrative leadership across the System.

The mission of the UNC Faculty Assembly is to:

Advise the UNC System President, System Office, and Board of Governors to establish sound policies and serve as an advocate for the faculty at all respective campuses.

In fulfilling its role, the Faculty Assembly serves as an advocate for the interests and perspectives of the UNC faculty by, among other actions:

• Providing advice and counsel to the UNC President, System Office, and Board of Governors on proposed changes to System-wide policy or the UNC Policy Manual;
• Working with the President and System Office staff in support of system-wide projects and initiatives that advance the mission of the University;
• Serving as conduit for communicating faculty perspectives and concerns to the President and System Office, and for disseminating System Office information to the faculty at each of the constituent institutions;
• Identifying and sharing ideas and best practices to support system-wide shared governance and productive collaboration between faculty and administration;
• Promoting greater understanding of the role and contributions of faculty to the University and state of North Carolina within the UNC Board of Governors, NC General Assembly and the broader public.

In addition to carrying out this mission, Faculty Assembly members frequently serve on working groups, policy committees, and personnel committees of the UNC System Office. The assembly also nominates members of the general faculty to serve on System initiatives as required.

The chair of the Faculty Assembly and, when in place, the chair elect, attend all Board of Governors public meetings and serve ex-officio on the Board of Governors Personnel and Tenure Committee, Education Policy and Planning Committee, and on the UNC System Office’s Chief Academic Officers (Provosts’) Council.

Delegates

Delegates must be full-time members of the voting faculty of their home institution. Each constituent institution chooses its Assembly delegation according to procedures established by campus governance bodies.

The size of delegations is proportionate to the number of budgeted full-time faculty positions on a campus; the representation system allows for two, three, four, or five member delegations. Assembly bylaws specify that the length of a delegate’s term should be two or three years, according to the institution’s discretion. Bylaws also require the selection of alternate delegates.

The Faculty Assembly Executive Committee provides representation for each of the delegation size-groupings, and the HMI institutions. Members are elected and serve one-year terms. One delegate each is chosen by caucuses of campuses by delegation size:

• Five delegate (ECU, NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte)
• Four delegate (Appalachian, N.C. A&T, UNC Greensboro, UNC Wilmington)
• Three delegate (FSU, NCCU, UNC Pembroke, WCU, WSSU)
• Two delegate (ECSU, NCSSM, UNC Asheville, UNC School of the Arts)

The body as a whole elects two members “at large,” and the chair of the HMI caucus also serves on the Executive Committee. No institution may have more than three members on the Executive Committee, including the Assembly officers.

Officers of the committee include:

• Chair (two-year term),
• Chair-elect (one year term in that capacity before assuming the two-year term as chair)
• Vice Chair (two-year term)
• Secretary (one-year term)
• Parliamentarian (appointed for a one-year term by the chair from among either current or past delegates)

The Assembly also has a staff liaison, who provides support at the UNC System Office.

Past Faculty Assembly Chairs

The following faculty members have served as Assembly chairs:

1. Roy Carroll’s term ended when he was appointed Vice President for Planning at the UNC System Office.
2. Betty Jo Welch died in office.