Liz Brandt has been at the University of Idaho since 1988.
She was the representative for the College of Law on Faculty Senate and Vice Chair last academic year when leadership asked her if she was interested in being the Chair. Brandt couldn’t say no.
“I’m at a point in my career where I have the time and perspective to give back,” she said.
It isn’t unusual, she said, for the Vice Chair of Faculty Senate to become the Chair later on, but she said it is not a job most faculty are able to do. The position is a time-consuming commitment that most faculty aren’t in a position to take on.
As Chair, Brandt will run Faculty Senate meetings and have authority over what happens in the meetings, the topic of discussions and how much time items get on the agenda. The Chair can see early drafts of projects the senate committees are working on and provide feedback as well as make judgement calls to keep things moving forward.
For the upcoming year in Faculty Senate, Brandt said she doesn’t have a particular agenda. Beside doing her basic jobs as Chair, which include setting the agenda and having regular meetings with administrators, there is one thing she wants to do — improve Faculty Senate itself by better including satellite campuses.
“We say we’re statewide and brag about our extensions, but for the people who are out there, we’re not doing a great job,” she said. “It seems we mostly give lip service. We struggle with technology and don’t do the best job with schedules.”
Brandt said about a third of UI faculty work in Boise now and that friends who have moved to Boise opened her eyes to the issues the faculty there have with the senate.
“We’ve got some persistent, hardworking people out there who have forced us to pay attention, but the responsibility for making sure those messages are heard can’t be placed on the people at the remote campuses who are already at a disadvantage with communication,” Brandt said.
Brandt said the university is better and stronger and can have happier faculty and staff if it has better communication with all UI locations.
She said she feels strongly about this because of how critical it is to maintain quality representation.
“Faculty governance still means something here. In a lot of institutions, it’s just a big administrative thing,” Brandt said. “Here, it’s libertarian enough the faculty is good at providing feedback.”
This will be Brandt’s fourth year on Faculty Senate. She said every Chair brings their own personality when running meetings and that changes the work the senate does.
“I think I’m a little bit less formal. I care a little bit more about the substance of issues than the process, but I am a lawyer, so I will care about more process than others,” she said. “If you look at Congress, process can get in the way of substance and vice versa.”
Though she is taking on more work in Faculty Senate, Brandt’s passion still lies in teaching. Brandt has spent the last 28 of her 32 years in legal education at UI, where she teaches classes in family and property law. One of her favorite parts is her more unique classes.
“I love teaching my seminars when I get a chance to teach them because I usually get a highly motivated group of students,” she said.
Nishant Mohan
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