August 8, 2025 Message from Mark Solomon, FAS-SEAS Senate Chair 2024/25:
Dear colleagues,
Even though I turned back into a pumpkin a month ago, I’d still like to provide my view of the last year in the life of your FAS-SEAS Senate. I’ll begin at the end, and then proceed in the normal order.
Old and incoming senators got to meet each other at the May Senate meeting. The transition this year is notable for the very high turnover, with twelve returning and eleven new senators (plus two vacancies). That’s a lot of fresh blood, but also the loss of a vast amount of experience (48 years of service!). Three senators, including two former chairs, termed out after six years of continuous service, and many senators chose not to run for re-election. It was that kind of year. I’ll miss the wise council, active involvement, and the occasional prod from the departing senators. Our final vote of the year was to approve a Statement in support of Yale’s international graduate students. In addition to general support, this Statement includes recommendations, developed in consultation with representatives of the Graduate Student Assembly, for how faculty and departments can ease the stress felt by and provide concrete actions in support of our international graduate students.
The new Senate subsequently elected this year’s Senate leadership:
- Marijeta Bozovic, chair
- Maria Piñango, deputy chair
- Other members of the Executive Council:
- Michael Farina
- Beverly Gage
- Michael Loewenberg
- Mark Solomon
- Jing Yan
You can find a full list of this year’s senators on the Senate’s website.
This year has been a tale of two Senates. For most of the year, we functioned in “normal Senate mode.” That is, we met, we invited guests to our meetings, we discussed, we researched, we wrote reports, and we lobbied for policies, befitting an institution in its tenth year of existence. Despite my intentionally bland statement above, we were quite productive in our normal mode. Here are some highlights:
- We contributed to the campus discussion of Institutional Voice in a Statement in support of the recommendations of the institutional voice committee.
- We issued a long-planned report strongly recommending that Yale create a campus-wide Ombuds office and attempting to rebut arguments we’ve heard over the years for why Yale remains the only Ivy+ university without an ombuds office. This effort is ongoing.
- We issued a thorough analysis of the accuracy and completeness of summaries to changes to the Faculty Handbook that accompany each edition of the handbook. We were gratified to see more detailed and accurate summaries, along with rationales for the changes, accompany the latest edition. Our recommendation that ALL changes be tracked was well received but not implemented; we will continue to push for it in the interest of full transparency.
- We signed on to an Author’s Rights Policy developed by the university library as part of a long-term plan to reduce the costs of open-access publication.
- We prepared a thorough set of recommendations concerning the structure and function of the FAS Dean’s Office. We timed this report for the start of the new Dean’s term; it will also contribute to the review of the Dean’s Office set to begin this fall.
- At the end of the previous Senate, we issue a report on Passing the Harasser, which recommended that new senior faculty hires permit release to Yale of any findings of sexual or academic misconduct at their previous institutions. This June, the Provost announced a policy largely consistent with our recommendations. Importantly, criminal background checks will NOT be part of this process, a recommendation we made strongly in our report and in discussions with the Provost.
- On very short notice, we arranged for administration officials to attend a Senate meeting to discuss a hastily rolled-out request to chairs and directors of graduate studies for detailed lists of DEI activities within their departments. Whether the intent of the request was to protect us or to “comply in advance,” the effect of the request sent shockwaves across campus. The huge turnout, frank questions to Vice President Kim Goff-Crews, and unified faculty voice led to pausing of the request.
That last item was one of our first activities in “emergency Senate mode,” wherein we reacted to, and tried to anticipate, national threats to the values and basic functioning of the university. In this vein, I am very proud of the letter we and Yale’s AAUP chapter jointly wrote in support of upholding university values. The letter was signed by over 1000 Yale faculty, and, we were informed, contributed significantly to strategy discussions at higher levels. At nearly the same time, hundreds of university presidents signed a letter in support of similar core values.
Importantly, this work led to ongoing collaborations with Yale’s AAUP chapter on issues of joint interest, where we can combine the institutional role of the Senate with the nimbleness of the AAUP. It’s my personal hope that this relationship may provide a small step toward establishing a university-wide Senate.
Much Senate activity happens in behind-the-scenes meetings of the Executive Council with various officials. In addition to our regular meetings with the FAS and SEAS Deans, we had multiple consultative meetings with the Provost, the President, and members of the Board of Trustees. I felt that these officials had sincere interest in our opinions on topics ranging from who should be considered for various important committees (numerous current and former Senator were selected), to an upcoming doxxing and counter-protesting policy, how the university should respond to the current emergency environment, and how we can all work together to survive. Of course, we continued to advocate for recommendations made in recent Senate reports.
I often refer to the Senate as the loyal opposition (without the hooting and hollering of the British Parliament). We pull in the same general direction on the really big issues, but also push and prod when necessary. I also feel that we currently have a strong and mutually trusting working relationship with members of the administration. That may be due to the parties involved or to the times in which we live (or both, of course). I hope this relationship continues as I find it leads to greater effectiveness.
I wish the new Senate leadership all the best for the new year and hope that many of you not in the Senate will bring your ideas and energy into Senate activities.
May you all enjoy what little remains of this summer break.
Sincerely,
Mark Solomon
Former Chair of the FAS-SEAS Senate for 2024-25
Messages from FAS-SEAS Senate 2025/26 Chair Marijeta Bozovic and Deputy Chair Maria Piñango