The faculty gathered for their most recent meeting last Friday to discuss interdisciplinary honors projects, changes to the Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs (GFA) and new faculty hiring.

The meeting opened with half an hour of discussion with President Safa Zaki. This conversation was closed to the public.

The faculty passed two motions approving interdisciplinary honors projects. Students will now be able to crosslist an honors project in two departments and receive honors from both departments in which they are a double, coordinate or interdisciplinary major.

Associate Professor of English Aaron Kitch, as a representative of Bowdoin’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, introduced a motion that would remove the dean for academic affairs and the president from the GFA. Both the dean for academic affairs and the president currently sit on the GFA ex officio. This reform was first proposed at the faculty’s February meeting with the goal of increasing faculty autonomy.

Following debate on how eliminating these roles would impact the workload of GFA members and whether this structural reform should start as soon as possible or next academic year, the faculty passed the motion to take effect immediately.

Faculty members also introduced a motion to reintroduce faculty advising for incoming first years during course registration. The faculty had previously rejected this one-on-one advising model as part of their approval of summertime course registration for incoming students. However, student feedback suggested that incoming first years would appreciate the guidance of an academic advisor as they register for courses. Other faculty members raised concern about workload and capacity for advising. Debate on this matter will resume at the next faculty meeting on May 2.

The Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee announced the distribution of six lines for new faculty. Of the 11 departments that applied, the economics, education, environmental studies, mathematics, neuroscience and psychology departments will receive these new lines, which allow these departments to hire an additional faculty member for the fall of 2026.