Jodie Malhotra (1) & Laura Rosenthal (2) | CU Anschutz
Faculty Council Communication Committee
(1) Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacy 

Jodie Malholtra, Communications Committee

Laura Rosenthal, Communications Committee

What does shared governance mean to you? Why is it important?

LR: I feel shared governance is best represented when faculty, administration, and governing boards work together to achieve an optimal working environment within higher education. All parties have expertise and knowledge within their own role and this expertise should be taken into consideration when making decisions for a college or university.  Each faculty member should have the opportunity to provide input into the decisions that affect the learning environment, including delivery and content of curriculum, policies and procedures, student success, and employee well-being. This input is gathered through various channels including polls, discussions, town halls, emails, and committee membership. I believe what makes shared governance flourish is an open channel of transparent communication between decision makers and the people those decisions impact. Active listening and reflective responses to suggestions and feedback are crucial to maintain this balance. 

JM: To me, shared governance is all the internal stakeholders work together on processes and policies that impact all of us in our individual departments or schools.  The goal of shared governance is to bring everyone together in the decision-making process to ensure that the decisions made lead to improved outcomes and shared success for all members of the organization.  

You both are quite new to the Faculty Council. Tell us about the role you took on, how long you have served in this role, and what your motivations for engaging in this type of service were.

LR: I joined the Faculty Council Communications Committee as a representative for the Anschutz Medical Campus (AMC) in July of 2022.  Communication is a key element to a successful operation.  I feel that the four campuses are uniquely different and can collaborate on issues that affect faculty.  AMC has not had a representative in some time and I think that the voice of faculty on this campus is valuable. I enjoy working with my colleagues in different disciplines across campus to achieve common goals. I am also interested in activities, processes, and, varying roles and functions across all campuses. 

JM: I also joined the Faculty Council Communications Committee as a representative for the Anschutz Medical Campus (AMC) in July of 2022.   I was specifically interested in the communications committee because communication is essential for success.  This is especially true with the size of our university and the geographical distance between our campuses.  Although we all are in different disciplines, I truly believe that there is so much that we can learn from each other and so many opportunities for collaboration, but we need to improve our communication to help facilitate these opportunities.   

What do you want the CU Community to know about the work that you are embarking on doing on the FC? 

LR: I have been a faculty member on the Anschutz Medical Campus for 16 years- employed first by the School of Medicine and now through the College of Nursing. I hope to contribute to discussions regarding operations of the university as a whole, to increase knowledge regarding the faculty and environment of the AMC, and to communicate information involving important decisions to our campus faculty. 

JM: I hope that as a member of the Faculty Council Communications Committee and a representative for the AMC campus, I am able to increase awareness of opportunities for collaboration and shared resources across the four campuses.