Associate Professor Tracey Thurnes served as chair-elect of Academic Council in 2022-2023 and chair in 2023-2024

At Elon University, faculty contribute in any number of ways to the success of the institution – something that Associate Professor Tracey Thurnes is proud to cite as chair of Academic Council.

“We have academics here with unique strengths, and Elon’s shared governance processes allow us to utilize those strengths – collectively, we’re able to move the university forward,” she said. “It’s also a good representation of academic freedom and democracy, both of which are very important to our community at Elon.”

No two institutions of higher learning share the same approach to shared governance. Elon’s model begins with Academic Council, a coordinating committee of the faculty that deliberates on matters within the province of the faculty for the purpose of formulating general policy.

Council acts in an advisory capacity to Elon University’s president with setting priorities and planning long-range goals for the university administration assisting in the selection of members for campus-wide ad hoc committees. It also advises the administration in the early stages of explorations of new programs that do not originate in a department or school.

In addition to elected Promotion and Tenure and University Curriculum Committee members, Academic Council appoints faculty to the standing committees that bring proposals to Council for consideration. A close working relationship between the chair of Academic Council and the Office of the Provost creates a level of productivity that awes some of Thurnes’s colleagues at other institutions.

Academic Council Highlights of 2022-2023

  • Introduction of the Advancing Equity Requirement for all matriculating students starting with the 2023-2024 academic year
  • Language surrounding faculty development in diversity, equity, and inclusion added to professional standards
  • Faculty representation and contributions to goals and priorities of the Boldly Elon strategic plan
  • Elon University’s High Quality Teaching Document linked to the faculty handbook, the culmination of extensive work that started in 2018 and disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic

Academic Council is now involved in reviewing criteria and processes for promotion and tenure through a dedicated faculty task force. A working group has proposed a reclassification of the lecture track to the teaching track that includes a third level of promotion to teaching professor.

“Shared governance at Elon intentionally leads to better decision-making,” said Thurnes, a member of the Physician Assistant Studies faculty and director of the Accelerated Pathways Program in the School of Health Sciences. “Our committee work is where faculty views are heard and honored and respected.”