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The Boulder Faculty Assembly (BFA) was updated on the Housing Assistance Program expansion proposal, upcoming SPIKE Center opportunities, a resolution related to the current OpenAI ChatGPT Edu contract and more during their October meeting, held on Oct. 1 in Wolf Law.

Update on the Housing Assistance Program expansion proposal

The Housing Assistance Program, offered through a partnership of the University of Colorado system office, the University of Colorado Foundation and Elevations Credit Union, is a need-based program designed to make housing more affordable for tenure and tenure-track faculty. The program, founded in 2000, provides a source of financial assistance for a down payment needed to qualify for a loan and potentially avoiding the cost of private mortgage insurance.

But that narrow focus will soon be changing thanks to an expansion proposal presented by Abby Hickcox, �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder’s representative on the systemwide Housing Assistance Program Steering Committee.

In 2025, the Board of Regents approved expanding the program so that it also includes instructional, research and clinical faculty on all four campuses with appointments of at least 75% of full time. Since then, there’s been an effort to envision what this new program will look like and how it will be implemented.

Exact details for the new program are still being finalized, and it is expected to be rolled out in the spring. More information is available on��.

Upcoming SPIKE Center opportunities

Chancellor Justin Schwartz announced the formation of the��SPIKE Center for Sustainability Education in 2025, which aims to support faculty in expanding and amplifying �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder’s sustainability curriculum.

Phaedra C. Pezzullo, faculty associate director for faculty engagement at the SPIKE Center and a professor of communication, and Joanne Marras Tate, faculty support and engagement program manager for the SPIKE Center, updated the assembly on upcoming opportunities from the center, which include grants and fellowships.

In particular, they flagged their new sustainability education grants for faculty. There are different grant tiers, including:

• Tier I: Seed Grant (up to $2,000), which funds new sustainability education ideas on campus
• Tier II: Trunk Grant (up to $6,000), which is for initiatives already rooted on campus that are looking to grow
• Tier III: Branches Grant (up to $10,000), which are projects on campus that are looking to “branch out” between departments or across the state
• Tier IV: Tree Grant (up to $50,000), which are one-year or multiyear proposals for sustainability education projects that already have evidence of success

“These grants were created to support educators on this campus to transform our teaching inside and outside the classroom to become aligned with the sustainable futures mission of our university. We hope qualified faculty and graduate students will apply for the money,” said Pezzullo.

Applications for the grants are due by noon on Nov. 11.

Applications are also now open for��SPIKE Center faculty affiliates—teaching, research and tenure-track or tenured faculty who are currently teaching and developing pedagogy and/or student experiences related to sustainability or those who are interested in doing so. They serve a two-year term and are voted upon by the SPIKE Center Leadership Team once a semester.��

“We want to make sure that we are creating spaces for faculty to be together and to collaborate and find new ways of doing this work,” said Marras Tate. “If you’d like to become an affiliate, I highly encourage you to do so. It’s not a hard application process, and we would love to have you.”

Resolution related to the OpenAI ChatGPT Edu contract

At the end of the meeting, the BFA introduced a resolution that calls for Schwartz to consult a faculty-led working group, chosen in conjunction with the BFA, to negotiate any renewal or extension of the Open AI contract for the Boulder campus, which was��.��

The resolution also asks university administration to work with the BFA and college faculty governance groups, as appropriate, to develop an AI strategy that meets the various needs of our campus community before initiating, extending or modifying any AI contracts. This call to include more faculty voices in the negotiations would be in addition to the work of the recently expanded��AI Strategic Steering Committee, which was charged with leading a more connected, systematic approach to AI on campus and includes shared governance leaders.

Before a vote could be taken, an amendment to the resolution was also introduced that calls on Schwartz to not renew or extend the OpenAI contract at all. After extensive discussion by the assembly representatives, that amendment was approved and the resolution passed.

In other BFA action

• BFA meetings will no longer be held on the first Thursday of the month. Spring semester dates are set for Thursdays, Jan. 21, Feb. 18, March 25 and April 22.
• BFA Chair David Paradis, BFA Immediate Past Chair Alastair Norcross, BFA Chair Elect Deb Palmer, BFA Parliamentarian Bobby Benim and the �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder Faculty Shared Governance Advisor Andy Cowell provided an overview of the BFA for new representatives, including how the assembly fits into Regent law and the Faculty Senate and how to join BFA standing committees.
• Paradis encouraged faculty to participate in the��Ombuds Office’s�� on Oct. 8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Center for Community, Room S484.

Learn more about the BFA and previous actions on��the BFA website.