Earlier today, the office of university President Dr. Prabhas V. Moghe formally initiated the Presidential Faculty Advisory Council (PFAC), an advisory body created under revised UT System Regents’ Rules and Regulations and Senate Bill 37.
According to an email to faculty and staff, the UTD PFAC will meet each quarter to “advise the president and provost on matters related to the welfare, academic mission, and future direction of UT Dallas.”
The council includes 16 full-time tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure-track faculty members who were appointed by Moghe and Provost Inga Musselman after being nominated by their school deans.
They are:
- Dr. Kelli Palmer (NSM), who will serve as the inaugural committee chairman
- Dr. Dale Albrecht (JSOM)
- Dr. Salena Brody (BBS)
- Dr. Alexander Burton (EPPS)
- Dr. Kemelli C. Estacio-Hiroms (NSM)
- Dr. Vladimir Gevorgyan (NSM)
- Dr. Mona Ghassemi (ECS)
- Dr. Pushpa Kumar (ECS)
- Dr. Marc “Lance” Lusk (IS)
- Dr. John McCaskill (EPPS)
- Dr. Majid Minary (ECS)
- Dr. Suresh Radhakrishnan (JSOM)
- Dr. Michael Rebello (JSOM)
- Dr. Michael Rugg (BBS)
- Dr. Katrina Rushing (BAHT)
- Dr. Kevin Waite (BAHT)
The creation of the PFAC follows the dissolution of the Academic Senate in September 2025.
The announcement included a link to a newly-created PFAC website, and a statement indicating that Academic Senate materials are archived and available on the provost’s website.
It also indicated there are plans for future town halls and a State of the University address during fall 2026.
Apart from that, the announcement noted that there will be a new committee structure on campus starting in September. Moghe said university officials conducted a “comprehensive review” of last year’s committee structure.
“This review was undertaken to ensure that our committees remain purposeful, effective and aligned with the University’s academic and operational priorities,” Moghe said.
Details of the new committee structure can be found here.
“Together with the new faculty advisory and committee structures, these opportunities are intended to foster open communication, strengthen collective understanding, and ensure that campus voices continue to inform key University initiatives and decisions,” Moghe said in the written announcement.
The Mercury has reached out to Musselman, Palmer and other interested parties for comment and will provide updates as new information becomes available.
