State of Illinois Council of Councils

Council of Councils is an annual conference of state university civil service councils and senates that originated at Northern Illinois University in 1997. It coincides with the fall meeting of the Employee Advisory Committee of the State Universities Civil Service System.

The 2023 Council of Councils was hosted by Northern Illinois University on Oct. 20. The theme was Advocating for the Collective Good and included the following presentations:

• Welcome from Senior Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer, John Acardo
• Keynote by Presidential Engagement Professor, Kurt Thurmaier, Ph.D.
  • Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policy
• Molly Holmes, director of Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
  • Advocating [in the details] for the Collective Good
• Kristen Houch, director of legislative and stakeholder relations for the State Universities Retirement System (SURS)
• Linda Brookhart, executive director of the State Universities Annuitants Association
• Music by the NIU Steelpan Studio
• Katie Davison, director of state relations