Mission and vision

Mission

The mission of a Faculty of Arts Council, as an elected participatory body, is to represent the interests and perspectives of the staff and the student community in our faculty. Thus, the Faculty of Arts Council considers participation and representation as foundational principles on which to build core values of transparency and accountability as well as methods of collaborative debating and decision-making. By promoting open communication and joint decision-making, we aim to lead by example with regard to participatory leadership. The Council seeks to actively help build a fairer, more inclusive, and equitable environment in which both staff and students can work, study, and thrive.

To achieve this environment, we actively seek out the input of both students and staff to ensure that different perspectives are represented, and we bring relevant signals to our discussions. We aim to be visible and approachable within the faculty and to communicate clearly about our work and relevant developments, for example through the Faculty Council Newsletter. Transparency is central to our work: we strive for open communication between the Faculty Board, the Faculty Council and the students and staff of our faculty about decision-making.

Vision

The vision of the Faculty Council in September 2026 is one that builds on the recent experience of fast-paced and drastic changes (educational and leadership) as well as pressure to act (budget and social safety). It recognises several priorities and timelines for actions. Its vision for the short-term is the safeguard of the interests of staff and students in teaching quality and the wellbeing of the faculty community at large, with for example an updated Risk Assessment & Evaluation (RI&E) from the ARBO committee, improved training for Programme Committee members and follow-up actions on the Social Safety Working Group report. Through regular and constructive dialogues with the Faculty Board, it aims to be a primary interlocutor on the planning, implementation and the decision-making on the faculty restructuring and of the monitoring of the newly formed Impact courses.

Its mid-term vision is to guarantee and safeguard as best as possible a sense of continuity and avoid the change fatigue that many colleagues and students start to feel, especially in the context of the decline in student numbers, programme changes and discussions about budget cuts. The Council sees itself as a place for reflection and exchange on initiatives—whether successful, unsuccessful or still in development—and for feedback on pilots, proposed actions and, at times, inaction. It is also a space for critical thinking ahead of challenges that go beyond the faculty, whether in the discussion about university governance or the use of AI. As the latter increasingly shapes teaching and learning, the Council intends to continue to contribute to critical debate and policy recommendations that protect subjects, programmes and jobs in our faculty.

Finally and more generally, the long-term vision of the Faculty Council is one that ensures the sustainability of our faculty and the reinforcement of its principles of inclusion and democratisation at all levels of faculty.