The University Council
(Constitution, Article 1)

Membership of the University Council

Composition and Functions 

1. The University Council consists of 31 tenured full-time, regular university faculty members, including department chairs; one representative from the faculty of the University Libraries elected by that faculty; the president of the Operating Staff Council and one other voting member; the president of the Supportive Professional Staff Council and one other voting member; the president of the Student Association; and 15 additional student members.
   
   The student members shall be chosen in the following manner: One student representative and that representative's alternate shall be chosen by the student advisory committee of each degree-granting college; and seven student representatives and their alternates shall be appointed by September 10 by the Student Association president with the advice and consent of the Student Association Senate. Also, a student representative and that representative's alternate shall be chosen from the graduate estudent body by the student advisory committee of the Graduate School.
   
   Among the ex officio members are 11 voting members, including the president, the executive vice president and provost, and the dean of each of the degree-granting colleges, University Libraries and the Graduate School. There will be four ex-officio nonvoting members:  the associate provost for Student Affairs and three additional members of the university administration to be designated by the president.
   
   The faculty representatives shall be elected by the faculty members of the colleges and the University Libraries, excluding the president's staff and the provost's staff, members of the Council of Deans, associate deans, assistant deans, assistants to deans, and members of the Supportive Professional Staff, with a minimum of one representative from any one college. The distribution of the remaining members shall reflect the ratio between the number of regular full-time faculty members in each college, excluding the Supportive Professional Staff, to the total number of such faculty members in all colleges, this being the number reported by the executive vice president and provost on January 1 of each year. This ratio shall be reviewed by the Elections Committee of the University Council every third year prior to the election in those years which are multiples of three, and the distribution of membership adjusted if need be.
   
   
2. The University Council, in accordance with Board of Trustees' Governance Documents, has the power:
   
   
   1. To establish the educational and academic policies of the university;
      
      
   2. To be concerned with and to participate actively in decisions made on other matters that may directly affect educational policies for which the University Council is primarily responsible;
      
      
   3. To act upon reports from designated committees, boards, commissions, or councils  whose actions affect the educational and academic policies of the university;
      
      
   4. To advise on policies regarding academic salaries, sabbatical leaves, tenure, and  promotion as follows: establish a personnel committee which will review and approve, in accordance with the bylaws of the university, policy recommendations concerning salary and all recommendations pertaining to tenure, promotion in rank, and sabbatical leaves, and report such recommendations to the University Council.
      
      
   5. To establish such standing and temporary committees as may be necessary for the  discharge of its responsibilities; to define the membership, jurisdiction, and authority of such committees; to resolve disputes among committees thus established; and to act on the reports submitted by such committees.
      
      
   6. To advise the president, and the vice presidents, on policies affecting the quality of student life on campus.

For details, see Constitution and Bylaws of Northern Illinois University.

Meets one Wednesday of each month during the academic year from 3 to 5 p.m.

Membership of the University Council

^ Ex officio, voting
x Ex officio, nonvoting

* Executive Secretary of University Council
x Ex officio, nonvoting

APPOINTMENTS RELATED TO UNIVERSITY COUNCIL

Parliamentarian to the University Council (Bylaws, Article 3.13)  Ferald Bryan
Faculty & SPS Personnel Advisor (Bylaws, Article 9)   David Wade
Representative: Faculty Advisory Committee to the Board of Higher Education (four-year term, 2009-2013) (Bylaws, Article 15.5) Earl Hansen
Representatives: State Universities Retirement System (SURS) James Lockard and Pamela Rosenberg