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Texas Dissolves Faculty Senates

Following recent legislation passed in the Texas Senate, the Texas State University System updated its rules to comply with the legislation. It granted university presidents the authority to establish new faculty advisory groups. The board did not approve any current senates to continue, forcing them to expire on September 1.

This move is striking, as other systems in Texas, notably the University of Houston System and the Texas Tech University System, have begun taking steps to preserve their Faculty Senates. While the Texas State System officials said the board plans to approve new faculty senates in the fall, the board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is in November 2025, leaving a gap in shared governance to start the academic year.

Under SB 37, faculty senates will face significant changes, even at universities that choose to retain and adapt them to comply with the law.

According to the Texas Tribune, SB 37 mandates that:

• University presidents appoint up to half of the faculty senate officers.
• Faculty senates have no more than 60 members.
• Appointees serve one-year terms for up to six years.
• Empty seats will be up to an election.
• Elected members serve two-year terms. They must step down after each term.

Federal Dollars' Impact on Higher Ed

Reporting from Jacquelyn Elias of the Chronicle of Higher Education illustrates that the recent shifts in federal funding will not impact all types of institutions in the same way:

Federal Dollars make up roughly 12% of our industry revenue, but Doctoral Institutions (16%) and Tribal Institutions (66%) rely more heavily on Federal Funds, as shown above.

From The Chronicle:

Interviewer David Jesse: Jordan (Acker), how do you feel the pressure differently than say 2019 or 2020?

Acker: It never felt under previous Democratic or Republican administrations like there was a war between the institutions and Washington, D.C. What’s changed is the tenor and the process. It’s more haphazard. I don’t know if I would describe it quite this way, but it’s like — you don’t know where the hits will come from next. It makes it hard from a board perspective to plan institutional priorities six months, a year, or further.

Jesse: Brad, as a president, how do you prepare for that level of uncertainty?

Brad Mortensen: Remember to focus on the students and their success, regardless of which way the political winds are blowing. It’s all about seeing students walk across the stage at graduation and having their lives uplifted and changed......On campus, I try to help the faculty understand why the legislature is making the decisions that they’re making.

Jesse: How do you manage the vision within financial restraints?

Acker: Administrative bloat is definitely part of an institution of our size. And there’s an institutional resistance to reducing it because of the endowment. There is a fundamental misunderstanding by our community about what exactly the endowment can be used for, what it cannot be used for, and what it is used for to help support student success......What people don’t understand, even though the university is financially very healthy, the margins are pretty slim.....But spending out of the endowment is not something that you can do for the long-term success of an institution.

From Vox:

Interviewer Sean Illing: What is college actually for? Is it just job preparation, a credentialing machine, or is it more?

Michael Roth: I believe that college is for three things. The first is to discover what you love to do — what makes you feel alive when you’re working...The second thing is to make the person who’s discovering what they love to do get much better at what they love to do. We can do a better job of that....The third thing is that you learn how to share what you’ve gotten better at and you love to do with other people.

Illing: Are you worried that AI is a threat to the model of education you just described? 

Roth: I think that the hard question that you’re pointing to is, Do people want to think, or will they be happy if AI thinks for them? I believe they want to think if you invite them to think. 

These conversations highlight two potential opportunities for leadership as Fall 2025 kicks off:

1. Educating the campus community about the financial position
2. Leaning into AI while fostering critical thinking.

Endowments: Quick Facts and Talking Points

Below are some quick talking points on what Endowments are, what they are not, and why they matter that you can work into your conversations and campus-wide updates to better inform your community.

What is an Endowment:

From US News and World Report: "An endowment fund is a collection of financial assets that the school can periodically pull from to cover an array of costs while intentionally growing the fund over time." Rather than a single account, endowments typically consist of dozens or hundreds of individually designated funds. The donor restricts some to support specific purposes, while others are more flexible.

What they CAN do:

• Provide long-term financial stability
• Support an institution's core mission by funding scholarships, faculty positions, starting new academic programs, and financing capital improvements
• Unlock opportunities for innovation

See below for Higher Ed Endowment Spending in FY24 (from NACUBO)

What they CANNOT do:

• Be treated like a checking account
• Ignore any legal, policy, or donor restrictions placed on the assets
• Fund all operating expenses
• In most cases, replace the need for tuition or fundraising
• Benefit everyone equally: Because many endowment funds are designated for specific purposes, certain parts of campus benefit more than others based on where donors have chosen to donate.

Additional Resources:

• Investopedia
• ACE
• NACUBO
• Stevens Strategy Blog

AI Updates and Resources

'Artificial Intelligence' will probably be TIME's Word/Phrase of the Year for 2025. In Higher Ed, we have already begun to feel the impact, whether in the classroom, faculty departments, or meeting rooms. As Michael Roth stated above, our community members still want to think, but at the same time, we do not want to fall behind the AI curve and get left behind. Below are some updates to AI in the industry and some tips for using it this fall:

Recent AI updates in Higher Ed:

• Google has pledged $1 billion over three years to support AI training and tools for U.S. colleges, universities, and nonprofits. More than 100 institutions, including major systems like Texas A&M and UNC, will receive funding, cloud credits, and resources to train students and advance AI research.
• Three of the biggest Large Language Models, Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini, have all introduced GPTs geared towards education. These AI tools are designed to support teaching, learning, and research by offering capabilities such as personalized tutoring, curriculum development assistance, and academic content generation.

Against this backdrop, here are some practical ways higher ed can navigate AI’s rapid integration:

1. Train faculty to integrate AI effectively. As noted by Forbes, faculty are the drivers of AI-powered digital transformation, but most students report that AI support in teaching is still lacking. Institutions that empower educators with a clear vision, resources, and support stand to lead the shift toward meaningful, AI-enhanced learning.
2. Avoid AI in areas where it may undermine learning or academic integrity, like testing or exams. A recent Op-ed by Professor Katie Day Good argues for the return of handwritten, in‑class “blue‑book” exams, praising them for fostering authentic, deeply expressive student work and restoring trust in the student‑teacher relationship. Going back to low-tech assessments offers a human-centered alternative to digital evaluations while balancing academic integrity with the value of personal expression.
3. Cultivate human skills like critical thinking, creativity, and empathy that technology cannot replace. As McKinsey notes, emphasize the skills AI struggles to or cannot replicate, like creative problem-solving, empathetic communication, and interdisciplinary thinking. Engage in activities like experiential learning, joining maker spaces, volunteering for community initiatives, or taking improvisation classes. In standard courses, assist faculty in flipping their classroom, promoting learning outside of the classroom with assignments, projects, or even cold-calls in class.
4. For your career office, many students are already feeling the impact of AI on their job search. Ask your community and company partners one key question: If AI replaces your current Junior Staff, who will become Middle Management or Senior Leadership next, and will those people be ready to manage and lead?
5. Ensure your campus has AI guidelines. Some examples we have found helpful:

• Syracuse
• Elon
• University of London
• Oxford
• Texas
• Wesleyan

Stevens' Strategy: Podcast Featuring Firm President John Stevens

Our firm’s president steps into the studio for an insightful episode of Trends + Tensions in Architecture and Design, presented by BHDP. Titled "Futureproof: Integrating Strategic and Master Planning within Higher Ed," the conversation explores how colleges and universities can synchronize their long-term vision with their physical campus plans by building the agility needed to meet evolving academic goals, student expectations, and uncertain futures. Below is an excerpt from the episode:

Brian: [When it comes to conducting a successful strategic plan,] who are the key stakeholders that will help move this forward? 

John: You have to have an institution with a governance structure working reasonably well. You have to have a faculty that is not butting heads with the administration and a board that understands its governance role and the president's leadership role, and they have to be able to make decisions respecting each other's domain of authority and responsibility within the institution. If you don't have those things in place, you need to fix 'em to move forward with effective, strategic, and master planning.

See below for a snippet of our conversation. Click here to listen to the whole discussion between John Stevens, Paul Orban, and Jaime Caridi.

603-863-4704

info@stevensstrategy.com

Grantham, NH 03753

Quiz Answer: B) University of Rochester

Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, the founder of Kodak. ESM was the first professional school of the university.

Lieberson, a composer, graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 1933 after studying with Mitch Morris, a prolific Oboist and Conductor.

Other famous alumni of ESM include Julia Bullock, Bob Ludwig, and Renée Fleming.

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